
Class _ 

Book 



A 



..__ 



COEHSIGHT BSFOSFf, 



, 



THE 

SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S 

KNEE 

(A Book of World Wide Playtimes) 



By 
MARGARET T. APPLEGARTH 

("Primary Mission Stories," "Junior Mission Stories, 

"Jack-of-all-Trades," "Lamp-Lighters 

Across the Sea."') 



The General Board of Promotion of the 
Northern Baptist Convention 

for the 
Woman's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society 

Ford Building, Boston, Mass. 
1433 Stevens Bldg., Chicago, 111. 






Copyright, 1919 
Woman's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society 



M 26 1920 



0)C!.A559516 



To 
The Memory 

of 
My Mother 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/schoolofmotherssOOappl 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Introduction— "THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE. 

Chapter I.— "COPY-CATS AND CHATTER-BOXES." 

(For children under six.) — A Chatter Box; a Letter 
Box; Jack-in-the-Box; Copy Cats; Scissor Cut-Outs 
and Nursery Games; Out-door Playthings; Garden 
Playmates 19 

Chapter II.— "BED TIME PRAYERS AND STOR- 
IES." (For children under six.)— Bath Tub Stories; 
Dress Stories; Furniture Stories; Friendship Pray- 
ers 39 



8 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Chapter III.— "THE MYSTERIOUS CHARM OF 
BUNDLES." (Ages seven to eleven.) — Explaining a 
series of nine Chinese bundles by means of nine 
letters 53 

Chapter IV.— "INCREASING THE DOLL FAMILY." 

Dolls that can be bought; Bottle Dolls; Clothes-pin 
Dolls; Twig Dolls; Cardboard Dolls; Button Face 
Dolls; The Oriental Dressmaker; The Land of Make- 
Believe — Africa; Alaska; American Indians; Burma; 
China; India; Immigrants; Japan; Korea; Mexico; 
Moslem lands; Philippines; Siam. Idols. Animals.. 67 

Chapter V.— "LET'S PLAY HOUSE!" Mrs Missionary 
Ragman; Houses for Africa, Alaska, American In- 
dians, Burma, China, India, Immigrants, Japan, Ko- 
rea, Mexico, Moslem lands, Philippines, Siam. Also 
How to Make Furniture Ill 

Chapter VI.— "DRESSING UP." A Dress-up Box; 
Reminiscences; The Child Who Plays Alone; Con- 
cealed Cities; Groups of Children; Discovering Prin- 
cesses at a Dress-up Party; Impromptu Theatricals. 159 

Chapter VII.— "ADOPTING A TWIN." S. A. T. Initia- 
tion Ceremony; Regular Meetings; Christmas Pres- 
ents; The Doll Shop; Summer Christmas Tree; Little 
Americans for Little Americans; The Dream Chest.. 171 

Chapter VIII.— "SUCCESSFUL RAINY DAYS." 14 
Scrap-Book Suggestions: — Rainy Day Scrap Book; 
How-Do- You-Do Book; Jap-o-Lantern ; Chinese Fan; 
My Own Jungle Book; The Go Book; Houses for 
Rent; Ships Ahoy; The Hungry Scrap Book; The 
Stamp Book; Vanity Fair; My Very Own World; 
Sing a Song of Sixpence ; Ladies' Home Journeys . . . 185 

Chapter IX.— "SICK-A-BED PLAYTIMES." Pill Bottle 
Stories for Wee Invalids; Dolly Dear; Eye Spy 
Scrap-Book; The Ever-So-Sorry Powder Co.; Gospel 
According to the Telephone Book ; Some Doctors 208 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 9 

Chapter X.— "THE ONCE A WEEK STORY NIGHT." 
Attractions of; The Family-Full-of-Facts ; Twice 
Told Tales ; A. E. F. ; "Go West, Young Man !" "Sing- 
Song Nights" (Famous Hymns — pictured); Melting 
Pot Stories; A Mother's Own Bookshelf; Famous 
Quotations Every Child Should Know 211 

Chapter XL— "GAMES, CONTESTS, CHARADES, 
'Some Blind-fold Games; Boat Race; Looping the 
Loops; Bean Bag Missionaries; Where Do You Live? 
Telegrams; Burmese Twins and What They "Ate"; 
Anybody's Aunt; Missing Letters in a Japanese 
Home; A Chinese Age Contest; Twisted in a Hindu 
Jungle; Bees in Missionary Bonnets; A Sting Con- 
test; Heart of Juanita; Katy Dids; Ship Ahoy; Can- 
nibal Islands; 14 Charades; Anagrams; Picture Puz- 
zles ; Filipino Riddles 221 

Chaptee XII.— "SWEET SIXTEEN— AND OVER." Big 

Sisterliness ; Shut Ins; Inch Library; Attractive 
Books; Love Story Club; Quaint Presents; Bulb 
Stories; Miss Chinese Tea Leaf; Pennants; "Connect- 
ing Up" — Theme Topics; Debate Subjects; His- 
Story; Biology; The War 235 



10 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

ALMA MATER 

The oldest university 

Was not on India's strand, 
Nor in the valley of the Nile, 

Nor on Arabia's sand; 
From time's beginning it has taught 

And still it teaches free 
Its learning mild to every child — 

THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE. 

The oldest school to teach the law 

And teach it deeply, too, 
Dividing what should not be done 

From what each one should do, 
Was not in Rome or Ispahan, 

Nor by the Euxine Sea; 
It held its sway ere history's day — 

THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE. 

The oldest seminary where 

Theology was taught, 
When love to God, and reverent prayer, 

And the Eternal Ought 
Were deep impressed on youthful hearts 

In pure sincerity, 
Came to earth with Abel's birth — 

THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE. 

The oldest — and the newest, too — 

It still maintains its place, 
And from its classes, ever full, 

It graduates the race. 
Without its teaching where would all 

The best of living be? 
'Twas planned by Heaven this earth to leaven — 

THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE. 

(Priscilla Leonard, in Youth's Companion.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

He must have had a very perfect plan when He began 
by giving His human children twelve care-free years 
in which to grow up ! He makes His insects to ma- 
ture in a few hours, His birds in a few days, and His 
animals in a few months, — while on His human babies 
He lovingly squanders a dozen years of aimless play- 
times, and the reason is divine. Hopefully we grope 
for it, and realize dimly that in all these thousands upon 
thousands of years since the world began His children 
have been playing at everything: playing to make their 
muscles stronger, their wits keener, their sympathies 
broader, and especially playing at being someone else — 
aping grown-up ways ! Physical, mental and social de- 
velopment were included in His program of play. 

Doubtless He had a plan for Mothers, too, and per- 
haps He has wondered ever since at their continued ab- 
sorption in bottles and baths and buttons and bloomers 
and booties, when He Himself had specialized in Play! 
How queer it is about Mothers : they guard and suggest 
and supervise everything in regard to eating, and sleep- 
ing, and bathing, and dressing, and schooling, and danc- 
ing lessons, — but playing is the children's own ! To the 
Mother, playtime gives a Blessed-Season-of-Escape; and 
yet those twelve precious years of games and dolls and 
dressings-up are forecasts of her children's future: for 
bigger habits of sympathy, friendliness, fair play and co- 
operation are formed in playtimes than anywhere else 
in a child's whole life. 

There are three types of Mothers in regard to Di- 
rected Play. Number One groans, "Oh, you will spoil 
play entirely if you step in ! Let them do it their own 
way; I did, when I was little; besides, it's a relief to 



12 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

have the kiddies occupied any old way, and out from 
under my feet." This is the Indulgent Mother, with s 
tang of indifference in her make-up. 

Number Two is the Diffident Mother: "I have to sug- 
gest so many other things/' she explains, "manners and 
proprieties and cleanliness, I just couldn't force myself 
on their play. They would resent it ! And as for play- 
ing Missions, as you suggest, — well ! I shouldn't know 
how to get the children to try it; I'm not much good at 
springing surprises on them. Anyhow I send them to 
the Junior Mission Band once a month, you know." 

Mother Number Three is the Adventuresome Soul, — 
equally busy, equally at sea as to methods, but always 
eager for the best ways of training her children into 
large-hearted, eager-souled citizens of God's world. 
"Show me!" she says, "just tell me how, and I'll try! 
I had no idea children played Missions, it must be 
fun!" 

It is fun ! And because a certain true little incident 
is the real incentive for this book, perhaps you will let 
me step out of these pages long enough to tell you the 
story : For when I was a little over four years old I 
went to India. And yet — a paradox — I have never been 
in India in my life! 

It is one of those piercing memories of childhood, that 
stand out among a host of half-forgotten things: I was 
playing in my little play-room, while my mother was sit- 
ting by a window sewing, — sewing and rocking, I can 
see her yet. I went up a bit timidly and said: "Well 
good-bye, Mother, I've got to go to India now to tell 
the heathens about Jesus !" and I kissed her good-bye. 

One wonders what her feelings were at that moment — 
what poignant contraction of the heart she may have felt 
as she queried whether this were a prophecy of some 
future farewell. How she could have dampened my 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 13 

ardor by some sweet complaint: "Oh, but you wouldn't 
go so far away from mother, would you, darling? And 
leave her without any little girl at all?" But those 
words were never spoken, and I like to remember her 
farewell kiss before starting on my journey. 

We hear veteran missionaries today telling of the 
tedious, dangerous voyages they endured in days gone 
by. I also ! For my ship was the lid of the sewing- 
machine. It was inverted, and the wee passenger had to 
sit squeezed inside in a most uncomfortable position, 
while aiding in the navigation by rowing vigorously on 
the carpet waves with a cane and umbrella for oars ! 
It was a slow and tippy passage, seemingly endless, 
when one glanced back at mother by the window, — sew- 
ing and rocking ! The progress made seemed nothing in 
comparison to the distance still ahead. 

But vigor prevailed, and when India was at last 
reached, there were the "heathens", my own dolls 
(minus clothes !) sitting around in a decorous circle 
underneath a chair, waiting to hear the old, old story 
from me. Much the worse for the voyage, I scrambled 
out, and Bible in hand, began my duties at once. I won- 
der now what that baby of four could have said; my 
only recollection is of singing "Jesus Loves Me, This 
I Know," and of preaching what was meant to be a long 
and eloquent sermon in my father's most effective style ! 
Then the dolls all had to kneel in prayer, after which 
there were converts to be baptized. I admit this was 
quite the climax of being a missionary, for the converts 
were judiciously-chosen dolls whose joints would not be 
hurt by immersion, and one of the stories my family 
delight to recall is that when the candidate was being 
baptized in the bath-tub, the Four-Year-Old missionary 
very reverently repeated: "In the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and into the Hole-You-Go" 

The Little Girl- Who- Was-Then has never been able 



14 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

to forget the thrill of those frequent trips — the farewell 
kiss., the perilous journey, the sweetness of telling about 
Jesus to those dear naked "heathens". Yet try as I 
may, I cannot recall a single missionary story or lesson 
or picture told me during those early years, although 
of course there must have been such aids to direct my 
play. But this I do know, that there was such an 
atmosphere in my home that it was the most natural 
and attractive thing in the world for little Four- Year- 
Old to incorporate the essence of the family's attitude 
toward a Christ-less world into her playtimes ! 

So it is in the hope that the practical suggestions on 
the following pages may provide the same incentives 
and the same atmosphere to your small sons and daugh- 
ters that this book is written. "Christian Service" can 
be foisted onto a group of children as one of those deadly 
dull duties that is performed with clenched teeth and a 
get-it-over-quick manner. Or "Christian Service" can 
begin by being the greatest fun in the world if there is 
a little Vision-of-Everybody-Everywhere tucked inside 
each child's brain. So that one littlest word about 
India, for instance, will cause a small Hindu maiden to 
come salaaming out of Molly's mind — a little Hindu 
maiden with a remembered name, a remembered home, 
and remembered facts about her queer sad life and her 
queer sad hopes ! — a little girl whom Molly had played 
with on rainy days, and loved, and never forgotten. 

All any one of us needs in order to serve is a keener 
vision of the "other fellow"; so surely it is not a sheer 
waste of time when the Friend of Little Children de- 
liberately squanders twelve years of playtimes on us, 
knowing that any vision our mothers may choose can be 
played right into childish hearts and minds, in such a 
delectably cheerful fashion that the young Olivers will 
cry for "more" ! 

There need never be any trouble interesting children 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 15 

under eight years old, and for that reason the simpler 
chapters dealing with games for them have been put at 
the beginning, the problems of Junior and Intermediate 
ages filling up the remainder of the book. For you 
can't say out and out to Ten Years Old: "Here's a 
queer doll from China for you to play with today, Dear." 
T. Y. O. may reply indifferently : "I don't know that I 
want to, mother !" But try the Mysterious Charm of 
Bundles on her, then the Adoption of a Twin — and Ten 
Years Old is won! 

It may not be amiss to mention here that this book 
really ought to be kept under lock and key, as it con- 
tains secrets galore, and if the children get a chance to 
read it themselves their first thrills will be over before 
you even begin ! 

Begin at once to choose from Chapters I., IV. and V. 
the articles you will want for "Boxes" or "Bundles", and 
make them a few at a time. Perhaps you belong to a 
small club of mothers in your neighborhood, or in your 
church, who would be interested to try this experiment 
with you, in which case you will be multiplying many- 
fold the good you can do to your own family. One wise 
young woman always carries a wonderfully decorative 
workbag! "And what are you making?" her friends 
ask, after admiring the bag. Then bike that householder 
in the Bible she brings forth things new and old, — 
"little nothings" which she proceeds to form into "little 
somethings" for her Boxes and Bundles, under the spell- 
bound gaze of the on-lookers, describing her new scheme 
as she progresses. Demonstrations are good business 
sense, as everyone knows, and many a mother can be- 
come a successful drummer for missionary playtimes by 
the simple means of a workbag, paste, scissors, and some 
cardboard. 

Many churches are now forming Parent's Classes to 
meet during the Sunday-School hour to discuss ques- 



16 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

tions of interest in the rearing of children. If there is 
such a class in your school, why not introduce the sub- 
ject of directed missionary playtimes? Or if there is no 
such class, could you not start one? Very profitable 
discussions leading up to the reason for having children 
play Missions at home would be on topics such as these: 

1. My Vision of My Children's Part in the World-of- 
Tomorrow. 

2. How to Maintain a Christian Atmosphere in My 
Home. 

3. What Kind of Ambitions Should be Fostered in a 
Christian Home- 

4. An Ideal Christian Mother — Her Activities, Her 
Ambitions, Her Relation to the World. 

5. An Ideal Christian Father — (as above). 

6. Books of Adventure for My Son. 

7. Same for Daughters. 

8. Beckoning Fingers: The Call to Christian Service. 

It seems likely that after some weeks of such dis- 
cussion, a number of mothers will become adventure- 
some enough to try creating such an atmosphere in their 
homes. This little book will help solve some of the prob- 
lems. Probably no mother will ever try all the sugges- 
tions : but every mother can try some of them ; and every 
doll, every game, every story will be an entering wedge 
to open the child heart a little wider toward the Unseen- 
World-of-Other-Children-Somewhere. 

It will be your most glorious contribution to the 
World-of-Tomorrow if you can thin the endless ranks of 
nominal Christians: 

"They live for themselves, they think for themselves, 

For themselves, and none beside, 
As if Jesus Christ had never lived 

And as if He had never died." 



18 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



THE DESIRE 

"Give me no mansions ivory white 

Nor palaces of pearl and gold, 
Give me a child for all delight, 
Just four years old. 

Give me no wings of rosy shine 

Nor snowy raiment fold on fold; 
Give me a little boy — all mine, 
Just four years old. 

Give me no gold and starry crown, 

Nor harps, nor palm branches unrolled; 

Give me a nestling head of brown 
Just four years old. 

Give me a cheek that's like a peach, 

Two arms to clasp me from the cold; 
And all my heaven's within my reach, 
Just four years old. 

Dear God, You give me from Your skies 

A little paradise to hold, 
As Mary once her Paradise, 
Just four years old." 

(Katherine Tynan.) 



CHAPTER I. 

"COPY CATS AND CHATTER-BOXES" 
(For children under six.) 

Just four years old! And what little chatter-boxes 
and copy-cats they are; — their minds so impression- 
able, their hands so eager to be busy, their affections so 
ready to be won: little shadows that tag around at your 
heels all day, whatever you may be doing, with endless 
questions and boundless curiosity. 

Here are some suggestions that ought to be a real 
boon to the busy Mother- Who-Must-Cook-and-Sew-and- 
Sweep, and would appreciate a few less interruptions ! 

1. A CHATTER-BOX. 

This should be a square box, as pretty as possible, 
perhaps some pale blue jeweler's box, a six-inch cube. 
Around its sides paste cunning Chinese lads and lassies, 
cut from "Everyland". On the lid paste one of those 
coy infants squinting at the syrup bottle which adver- 
tise Aunt Jemima's Pancake Flour in the women's maga- 
zines. On this lid print in black: MY CHATTER 
BOX. 

Inside it are to be put a number of extremely simple 
objects, each with a missionary significance. In giving 
such a box to Johnny or Mary for the first time, one such 
object inside is enough, for a story must be told about it, 
and too many objects plus too many stories would cause 
mental indigestion, besides defeating your purpose of 
maintaining a fresh interest in the Box from day to day, 
when various household duties make it desirable to keep 
Johnnie employed! 

So on day number one, a lonely plaything rattles 
around inside: perhaps a clothes-pin doll. You tell a 
simple story about "him" or "her", which little Four- 
Year-Olds can act out. Day number two when the Box 



20 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

is brought forth, behold a second plaything is inside, 
about which another story is told, linking it to the first 
story. And so on, until the Box becomes a treasure 
house of friendly objects, about which Johnnie — or 
Mary — is well-informed. 

A number of simple contents which can be made at 
no cost at all are mentioned below, as well as some which 
may be bought very reasonably : 

(1) Clothes-pin Dolls (see chapter IV. for direc- 
tions). 

(2) Button-Face Cardboard Dolls (see chapter IV. 
for directions, figures 3 to 36). A Button-Face Family 
is so simple to make that you can easily prepare enough 
dolls to teach Johnny to act out this cute jingle, adapted 
by Miss Edith Thomson from the classic "House that 
Jack Built": 

"This is the Chinese, or 
Japanese 
Hindu 
African 

Burmese } Mission School. 

Mexican 
Alaskan 
Indian 

This is the child that went to the Chinese Mission School. 
This is the mother won by the child that went to the 

Chinese Mission School. 
This is the family hostile no more, because of the mother, 
won by the child, that went to the Chinese Mission 
School. 
This is the street of neighbors galore, brought by the 
family hostile no more, because of the mother won by 
the child that went to the Chinese Mission School. 
This is the church where gathers a throng of persons 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 21 

who listen to sermon and song, who come from the 
street of neighbors galore, brought by the family hos- 
tile no more, because of the mother won by the child 
that went to the Chinese Mission School.'' 

(3) Tiny Houses and Churches (see chapter V. for 
patterns) will be needed in enacting this jingle. It is 
not always necessary to have a box as a foundation to 
which the cardboard sides are to be pasted. Especially 
for the preceding jingle it will be just as satisfactory to 
cut out a double set of sides, and paste the roofs to- 
gether, then the lower parts can be spread apart to make 
the house stand. But where only one house is needed, 
instead of a street- full, it is just as simple to paste the 
double sides on opposite sides of some tiny jeweler's box, 
or a box of the size that visiting cards come in. In this 
case always cut the door so it will open and shut, and 
have the little dolls of a size to go indoors. 

(4) Landscape Gardening need not be overlooked. 
Pine tree tips, set in spools, are very effective, but as 
the needles soon wither in-doors, green crepe paper 
slashed into palm leaves and tied to the end of a twig 
will wave in a very realistic fashion if the twig trunk is 
put into an empty spool. Cardboard trees are described 
in chapter V. Tree stories are legion; "The Banana 
Tree That Was Dressed Up" (pages 105-112, "Primary 
Mission Stories") would suggest a whole set of contents 
for the Chatter Box: tree, negro dolls, little hut, tiny 
bowl of rice (acorn cup full of paper pellets), church. 
Or in the same book, pages 280-284, is the story of "The 
Cradle-that-Hung-in-a-Tree", which would suggest other 
contents for the Box; squaw and papoose (chapter IV. 
for patterns), tree, Indian tepee, tiny bow and arrow, 
birch bark canoe, animals to be "hunted," etc. Pine- 
tree tips, in spools, set on white cotton batting, would 
give an ideal Alaskan setting. A little snow igloo (see 
chapter V.), a dogsled and some cute little brown and 



22 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

white Eskimo Button-Face dolls will be suggestive of 
stories. Perhaps you could call it "The-House-With-a- 
Thousand-Christmas-Trees-in-the-Backyard", and then 
tell how once there was never a Christmas candle on a 
single tree, nor a single star, nor tinsel, and nobody sang 
Christmas carols — because? Then how Mrs. Missionary 
came to tell them about Jesus, and how one of the trees 
finally became a really-truly Christmas tree. Johnnie 
will love to decorate it with tiny bits of colored paper 
cut in balls or streamers. Pages 204 to 223 in "Pri- 
mary Mission Stories" give other Alaskan stories. 

(5) A Bullock Cart is easily constructed from a small 
cardboard box, with a visiting card curved over the top, 
as a hood, and two spools underneath for wheels. A 
long string should be attached so the cart can be dragged 
around the room as Dr. Missionary visits her Button- 
Face patients, who are SO sick ! The missionary may 
be some attractive lady cut from a fashion magazine. In- 
side the cart should be some remedies : a tiny bottle, with 
a Red Cross label, filled with small candy drops, if 
you can trust Johnny not to appropriate real medicine 
bottles afterward. This warning is not amiss, as imag- 
ination soars at the age of five, and any bottle may con- 
tain play medicine in his mind. In which case put in 
paper pills, which he has squeezed into pellets himself. 
Little round pill boxes with other pellets inside can also 
be in the cart, and little powder papers to be folded 
into homeopathic pills. This is an endlessly fascinating 
game, and Dr. Missionary can open a hospital if some 
tiny beds are put in the Chatter-Box, also a nurse doll. 
(For patterns see chapters IV. and V.) The Bullock 
Cart is for India, Burma and Assam. A miniature sedan 
chair (chapter V.) could be used for China, although 
this lacks the charm of being something to drag! In 
chapter II. appear some stories about sick people, and 
in "Primary Mission Stories" the following: Pages 77- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 23 

84, "Monkey Tales and Other Tales"; pages 113-158, 
about Ramaswami's blind Hindu father; pages 179-184, 
"The Get- Well-Room" ; pages 267-273, "Little Boy- 
Who-Was-Called-by-a-Girl's-Name" ; pages 323-328, 
"Donkey Tales and Other Tales." 

(6) Nut Shell Boats are made from half of an 
English walnut shell. Sails can be made from squares 
of paper, with a steel pin for a mast, the sharp end fas- 
tened into the shell. Such boats are especially good 
employment when you are cooking in the kitchen and 
want Johnny to be still, and amused ! Place a dish-pan 
half-full of water on the kitchen table, so that the little 
nut-shell boats can float around in it. Very tiny paper 
dolls, less than an inch high, may be cut from brown or 
yellow paper to suit the nationality of the natives who 
are sailing these primitive boats. If a larger sail-boat 
(Five-and-Ten-Cent-Store) could have a Mr. and Mrs. 
Missionary (also paper) on board, then all sorts of en- 
grossing things may occur : one nut-shell boat might have 
an upset, and the sailor be almost drowned if Mr. Mis- 
sionary does not sail up to rescue the perishing! Or 
the bigger boat can hold a Sunday service, and at the 
sound of the hymns one by one the native boats sail up, 
and Mr. Missionary stands on deck and tells a Bible 
story. Or maybe the natives are cannibal savages, who 
fight Mr. and Mrs. Missionary, and come at night to steal 
away their food. Great wind storms may blow over Dish- 
Pan Sea, causing collisions. If moss is obtainable very 
attractive islands may be made, or green cardboard with 
corks nailed underneath will make beautiful islands. A 
tiny house and a tree or two will make a beautiful 
Inland Sea, the large white boat becomes the Fukuin 
Maru, Mr. Missionary is Captain Bickel and the tiny 
natives all wear Japanese kimonos. For stories see 
pages 197-204 of Mrs. Montgomery's "Following the 
Sunrise" and send for a free leaflet called "The Gospel 



24 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Ship of the Inland Sea." Corks, with a tiny bell fas- 
tened underneath, make delightful bell-buoys, and very 
cunning fish can be created from two thicknesses of 
green paper (see figure 37) with a thin slice of cork 
put in between before the two sides are sewed together 
— so the fish can swim, of course ! If a hole is punched 
for the eye then Mr. Missionary can go afishing from 
his ship, with a toothpick rod, a thread line, and a bent 
pin book. Without any irreverence the beautiful stories 
of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee can be acted out, also, 
and hymns about the sea learned: "Jesus Saviour Pilot 
Me," "Eternal Father, Strong to Save." 

Note: If a rubber apron protects Johnny, it will not 
matter how splashy Dish-Pan Sea becomes, as kitchen 
tables are easily mopped, and it is something to have 
him blissfully occupied during cooking time. 

(7) Social Settlement. Another set of amusing con- 
tents for a Box would be along domestic lines, teaching 
proper methods of cooking and housekeeping, which will 
appeal to many. Industrial missions are maintained the 
world around, so you can choose whatever nationality 
you prefer: African, Chinese, Negroes in this country, 
Immigrants, etc. Suppose you select the latter: then 
the first day the Box should contain a Button-Face Im- 
migrant doll, a gray shawl over her head, an apron and 
a bulky bundle; other members of her family, and 
neighbors, are added on following days, with a Miss 
Missionary doll; then add a little cooking stove, some 
pots and pans, a table, and a broom. Domestic Science 
can then be taught by Miss Missionary to a circle of 
ignorant little Immigrants; Mary herself will learn 
much while imbibing the fact that our cities are full of 
people who need to be taught just such simple things. 
See chapter V. for patterns of stove with lids, table, 
tablecloth, dishes, etc. Miss Missionary should end each 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 25 

lesson with a Bible story about Jesus in people's homes 
— how He said grace, etc. 

(8) Tiny Picture Boohs may be put into whatever 
Box you decide to make. They should have covers of 
colored cardboard, not more than 2x3 inches, and should 
contain pictures cut from missionary magazines, illus- 
trating the lives of the doll family in the Box. You may 
have a number of Chatter-Boxes, — a yellow one, a red 
one, a green one — each about a separate country, with its 
own little picture book. 

Note'. A number of inexpensive contents may be 
bought at almost any Five and Ten Cent Store: small 
white sailboats, little stoves, furniture, wonderful cellu- 
loid jungle animals, and at certain seasons you can also 
find Indian, Alaskan and Negro dolls. At the Japanese 
stores very quaint little Japanese houses with thatched 
roofs sell for 15 cents; Japanese dolls for 10 cents each; 
parasols and lanterns, 5 cents apiece; fans, 2 for 5 
cents; cute brooms, with the stick a pencil, for 5 cents. 
You will also find cunning iron bridges, lanterns, houses, 
etc., to form a Japanese garden in a flat bowl. 

One other indispensable (free!) content for every 
Chatter-Box is a mission bank in which to save money 
for sending Mr. and Mrs. Missionary to the families 
who need them. Write to the Literature Departments 
for them; in other years these boxes have taken the 
shape of fascinating cradles, trunks, tepees, flower 
boxes, soldiers' tents, little red-roofed hospitals — attrac- 
tive additions to any box. If you provide no such out- 
let for Johnny's newly-awakened interest, what a farce 
that interest may soon become ! "Emotion is no substi- 
tute for action." And the child who likes to give, is on 
the road to Christian Service of the highest type. 

2. LETTER BOX. 

You will have noticed that nothing piques Johnny's 



26 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

curiosity so much as the fatal stillness that occurs when 
you begin writing a letter ! You can overcome the an- 
noyance of his endless interruptions by making him a 
postoffice Letter Box from a shoe box, with a piece of 
green cardboard curved around it — very simple. Also 
give him odds and ends of colored paper and a few 
small envelopes. Colored coin envelopes, very small 
ones, sell for 10 cents a package at paper stores. This 
outfit will make the Time-When-Mother-Writes-Letters 
a real treat ! If he has already had a Chatter-Box so 
much the better, for he will enjoy writing letters to Mr. 
and Mrs. Missionary and the various Button-Face dolls 
to tell about his own doings. It is delicious to watch 
the earnest endeavors at evolving this literature, it re- 
calls William Canton's verses on "The New Poet'': 

"/ write. He sits beside my chair 

And scribbles, too, in hushed delight, 
He dips his pen in charm-ed air: 
TV hat is it he pretends to write? 

He toils and toils; the paper gives 

No clue to aught he thinks. What then? 

His little heart is glad; he likes 
The poems that he cannot pen. 

Strange fancies throng that baby brain, 

What grave, sweet looks! What earnest eyes: 

He stops — reflects — and now again 
His unrecording pen he plies." 

These letters can be posted in his green Letter Box 
after he has crayoned a red stamp on the envelope. 
When he is not around you can remove them, and if you 
want to reply by leaving inside one of the tiny picture 
books already mentioned it will add not only to his 
Chatter-Box, but the certain delight which accompanies 
the Time-When-Mother-and-I-Write Letters ! 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 27 

3. JACK-IN-THE-BOX. 

This is a box which will interest children between 
four and six years old. A little book called "Jack Of 
All Trades" has been written for Junior children telling 
of the various "Jacks" who make us the clothes we wear, 
the food we eat, and everything we use so carelessly. 
It will form an endlessly interesting story to fill a box 
with many of the things these Jacks make. For this 
purpose, a small circular box such as is used for muffs 
or hats may be used. Around the sides paste pictures 
cut from magazines showing workers of all kinds : you 
will find an amazing array of great muscular giants at 
steel foundries, lumber Jacks cutting down trees, with 
the finished furniture shown beneath, fruit growers, 
vegetable pickers, canning factories, etc. On the cover 
print "Jack-in-the-Box" with a few tiny pictures of 
Jacks here and there. 

You will have read in many a newspaper and maga- 
zine of the coming clash between Capital and Labor. 
As a matter of fact it is a lack of understanding and 
sympathy which causes the two factions, and some day 
Johnny may have a big share in it. That he be- 
longs on the Comfortable People's side is all the more 
reason why he should learn of the infinite tasks of un- 
seen workers which go to the making of everything he 
uses. Moreover it will be a magic game to inject living 
stories into lifeless objects. The book that has been 
mentioned stays home in America, visiting "The House 
That Jack Built," where tenement workers make neck- 
ties, artificial flowers and "finish" clothing; it introduces 
you to "Little Jack Horner" who pulled out basting 
threads, to "Jack the Giant Killer" who mines the coal, 
to "Jack and the Beanstalk" who gathers and cans 
vegetables, etc. To leave America and visit other 



28 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

"Jacks" let me suggest the following: 

(1) "Jack be nimble, 
Jack be quick, 
Jack jump over the candlestick. 

Your dictionary, plus a little thread of original story, 
will furnish a tale of how the candlestick found in the 
"Jack-in-the-Box" came to be a candlestick. Candles, 
for instance: if wax, of the honest old Dutch Hans 
(Jack) who raised the bees which gave the wax, and 
of God's kindly providence in making the bees so won- 
drous wise; or if tallow, of the cowboy Jack on the 
prairie who raised the sheep whose body gave the tal- 
low; and of the French Jean (Jack) in the candle 
factory who had his share in making over the wax or 
tallow into something pink and round and twisted with 
a cotton wick inside it. Here is one way to begin: 
"Once this dear little pink candle of ours was a Bee, 
buzzing around among the clover plants all summer 
long! 'Buzz-z-z !' the little Bee hummed all day, but I 
guess he never dreamed he was helping to make a little 
pink candle for mother's own little Johnnie Jones !" 
(Or "A lambie frisking around in a big green meadow 
all summer long. 'Baa-a-a !' etc.) "It all happened be- 
cause of what was done by Jack be nimble, Jack be 
quick, Jack jump over the Candlestick. He was a busy 
boy who had to stay cooped up indoors, in a factory" — 
etc. 

As for the Candlestick itself, if it is brass let it come 
from Russia, where some dear old Russian Ivan (Jack) 
hammered it and shaped it, and finally brought it over 
the sea in his immigrant bundle. If it is China, look 
under "porcelain" in some good dictionary and concoct 
a story of the yellow-faced John Chinaman who dug 
up the Chinese clay, and formed it into a candlestick in 
some factory, then baked it hard, then painted little pat- 
terns on it; Jack Tar, the sailor boy, brought it over 
the sea to us; etc. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 29 

(2) "Jack-o'-Lantern" could be another Jack-in- 
the-Box. A small pumpkin made of papier-mache will 
serve the double purpose of telling of the Polish Jan 
(Jack) out in the vegetable gardens whose entire family 
"goes to pumpkins" in August, to pick and pick and 
pick, and also of the Italian Giovanni (Jack) who goes 
to the Novelty Factory to help paste paper pumpkins 
for our Hallowe'en parties. 

(3) Jack Straws. The penny Japanese match-boxes 
are easily obtained from cigar stores. Look for the 
label "made in Japan." Only one used match should 
be left inside the box when it is put into the Jack-in- 
the-Box. Tell of a poor Japanese family, of their polite 
home life (see chapter V.), of their poverty and their 
sending Take and Taro to the Match Factory, where 
they sit on the floor for twelve long hours pasting match 
boxes together, at eight cents a thousand boxes! 

(4) Jack Knife. An envelope with grains of rice in- 
side, and on the outside pictures of Japanese, Chinese 
or Hindu women bent double, like Jack- Knives, over 
the paddy fields. 

(5) Jumping Jacks. A piece of oriental silk, with 
a picture of a Chinese or Japanese girl who perhaps 
helped weave it, who stood all day long in a narrow lane 
of noisy looms and had to leap up and down tying 
broken threads. 

Note: See chapter VIII. under scrap books for other 
ideas for this box. Boys are especially keen on know- 
ing the "Why" and the "How" and the "Where" of 
various objects, so you have a marvelous chance to in- 
fuse a friendly sympathy into every object you tuck in 
Jack-in-the-Box. As you tell the stories in connection 
with the objects, be sure to have a missionary meet the 
makers of them, and help smooth their way and lead 
them to the Friend who said, "Come unto me all ye that 
labor." 



30 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

4. COPY-CATS. 

An endless amount of employment may be furnished 
by these copy-cats, the covers of which should be made 
from cardboard cut in the shape of a cat (see figure 1), 
with the pages inside formed alternately of thin tracing- 
paper and heavier paper with a picture pasted on it, 
the whole being fastened together with two round brass 
paper fasteners for eyes. The pictures will be easy to 
find, and a number of cats of different colors may be 
made to tell about different places. Each book might 
have this verse: 

"The purr-puss of this copy-cat 
Is tracing things — but you've guessed that 
Because the paper thin and new 
Is meant to trace the pictures through" 

(1) Black Copy-Cat, with orange ribbon round its 
neck (real, or painted) could contain pictures of Jack- 
of-All-Trades, if you have started a Jack-in-the-Box. 
Magazine advertisements will be plentiful. 

(2) Yellow Copy-Cat, with black ribbon, pictures 
of Chinese children, homes, etc. See "Everyland," 
"Missions," "World Outlook," and — especially — free 
oriental steamship folders. 

(3) Brown Copy-Cat, with blue ribbon; India. 

(4) Gray Copy-Cat, with pink ribbon; Japan. 

(5) White Copy-Cat, with green ribbon; Alaska. 

(6) Tracing books, square ones, may be bought for 
10 cents each from the Home and Foreign Literature 
Departments: "Yo San and His Friends" (Chinese) 
and "Little Native Americans". Also "Poster Stamp 
Book" (10 cents. F.). See note at end of chapter II. 
in regard to ordering literature. 

Note: As far as possible choose pictures where the 
outlines are clear enough to be traced through the thin 
paper. Crayons may be used. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 81 




Figure 1 Copy Cat. 



Directions: In making a pattern for the Copy Cat, 
figure 1, outline a saucer for the head, and a plate for 
the body, overlapping it somewhat on the head circle. 
Paste white paper circles on the head for eyes, and 
fasten the layers of paper together with two round brass 
paper fasteners for pupils ! Tails are worn at any de- 
sired angle this season ! 

The traced drawings may be colored and if you are on 
hand to weave delectable little stories about each pic- 
ture, an added value will surround the Copy-Cat. 



82 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 2 
Cut-outs. 

For figure 2 any of the dolls in chapter IV. may be 
used, remembering not to cut out the hands ; and any 
house in Chapter V may be used with roof eaves at- 
tached : 

"Way round the world it is reaching, 
This Street of the Open Door, 
And neighbor is calling to neighbor, 
'We each need the other more!'" 

5. SCISSOR CUT-OUTS AND NURSERY GAMES. 

When the Blunt-Scissor-Age has been reached a new 
field of missionary occupation has been opened, for 
whole villages of houses can be cut out from magazines 
and folders, and entire congregations of converts from 
the same source. To make these houses and people 
stand up satisfactorily, paste little paper props on the 
back sides. Other original designs and games are: 

(1) Ring Around a Rosy. A long strip of paper 
must be folded, like accordion pleating, and on the top 
fold a little figure drawn so that the hands alone cannot 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 33 

be cut out, as they meet at the folds. Cut out the 
figures, and when opened a whole bevy of little crea- 
tures will stand hand in hand to play games. With 
crayons, faces and hair and buttons may be added. 
(See figure 2.) 

(2) Village of Open Doors is made in the same 
way, only this time the roof ends are left uncut at the 
folds, so that when the rest of the house is cut out and 
opened a zig-zag street of houses stands ready to be 
visited. Cut the doors so they can open and shut, and 
color the roofs in different hues — if it is a Chinese vil- 
lage, red, green, yellow, brown, and if a thatched hut 
village, then in shades of brown, yellow and black. 

(3) "Where, Oh Where, Has the Missionary Gone?" 
is a game that Johnny will enjoy playing with the 
above-mentioned street of houses and some marbles. 
These are to be named Mr., Mrs., Miss and Dr. Mis- 
sionary (a color will differentiate them), and one by 
one they are to be rolled from some distance through 
an open door. This is more fun, however, if different 
houses are set up, one a church, one a house, one a hos- 
pital, and one a school. Then Mr. Missionary enters 
the church door, and you must ask: "What will he do 
in there?" Johnny to give his own answer: "Preach a 
sermon," "have Sunday school," etc. Miss Missionary 
should try to roll through the school door, Dr. Mis- 
sionary through the hospital door, Mrs. Missionary 
through the home door. In each case the question 
"What will she do in there?" should be asked and an- 
swered. Encourage original answers by further ques- 
tioning. 

6. OUTDOOR PLAYTHINGS. 

The Friend of Little Children has made His outdoors 
one of the most thrilling places for missionary play- 
times. In chapter V. it will be shown how the chang- 



34 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

ing seasons make ideal settings for tropical jungles or 
for Arctic explorations. But for the wee children He 
has prepared more fanciful playthings — painted in His 
most delicate colors — nodding their saucy heads in the 
most enticing invitation to "Come and Play !" 

(1) Garden Playmates. In case you have over- 
looked the possibilities of flowers as playmates for 
babies of three and four years old, let me introduce a 
few so that on your rambles through your own garden 
you can help Johnny meet them, too. 

(a) God's Little Yellow Telephone is, of course, a 
daffodil ! Try naming it that to Johnny, and if he has 
imagination he will at once stoop over and mumble little 
messages through the phone to his other new garden 
friends. Perhaps the Pansy Family will nod their vel- 
vety heads in reply, and the Sunbonnet Babies will 
wriggle with excitement. As a beginning teach him to 
whisper this lovely "Whisper Song" into the flower 
phone : 

"I'd like to send a whisper song 
Across the water blue, 
And say to all the children there: 
'Jesus loves you!' 

"If they should not quite understand, 
They'll wonder if 'tis true, 
So I will keep on whispering still, 
'Jesus loves you!' " 

(&) God's Pansy Family. The five little pansy 
faces — white, yellow, brown, red, black — give an excel- 
lent likeness to the faces of God's human family. Use 
the two stories in "Primary Mission Stories" entitled 
"How the Artist Forgot Four Colors" (pages 20-26) 
and "God's Little Garden" (pages 154-16*0) to develop 
this ides. 



*Verses from the Neidlineer song card used by permission of W. H. Neidlinger. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 35 

(c) The Sunbonnet Babies are nasturtiums, who 
have little green trays with dewdrop milk on them for 
breakfast and supper ! This would be suggestive of a 
day nursery, perhaps, or of the mountaineer children 
who really do wear sunbonnets. 

(d) Canterbury Bells. The bells should be named: 
"Ding-Dong-Come to school — to learn by rule", for the 
school bell; "Ding-Dong-Something's Wrong — Come 
here for pills — To cure your ills !" for the hospital bell ; 
"Ching-a-ling-a-ling, It's quite the thing, To come to 
Sunday school and sing", for the church bell; etc. Or 
tell Mrs. Peabody's stories, "Rafaelo and the Seven 
bells" (F. 5 cents). 

(e) Other quaint playmates would be Poor Little 
Mr. Butterfly who goes up in his yellow (or brown) 
aeroplane to drop down messages in every land, saying 
"Jesus loves you!" Little Miss Hyacinth has any num- 
ber of bells, too, which may be named, as suggested 
above. Miss Morning Glory is in the church choir sing- 
ing "Glory ! Glory ! Glory be to God on high !" Try 
having a lavender flower sing it as alto, a pink flower 
as soprano ! Jack in the Pulpit is minister, of course ; 
Johnny can decide on the text. As for the Tulip Fam- 
ily, don't they really look exactly like the gay turbans 
of Hindu gentlemen, bobbing in the market place as 
they exchange gossip about what Mr. Missionary told of 
the one and only God? Johnny will beam delightedly 
over all these stories, but you will have to be ingenioug 
enough to think up enough to fit every flower ! Forget- 
me-nots will be simple: and Rose will suggest the name 
of Jesus, the Rose of Sharon; Golden Glow will be 
money to send teachers and Bibles, but what will you 
concoct about zinnias, dandelions and clover? 

(/) Mr. and Mrs. Twig are despribed more fully in 
chapter IV. and are very sprrgtitty piaymates. 



36 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(2) Snow Playthings are suggestive of Alaska, so 
see chapter IV. and V. for equipment, and ideas. 

(3) A Japanese Garden may be made in one corner 
of the yard, — a little lake with a twig bridge over it, a 
house, a doll in a kimono, and you are all ready for a 
tea party when Mrs. Missionary comes to call ! 

(4) Acorn Cups and Saucers are for sale every 
autumn in xoholesale quantities at Oak Tree Inn! 

Note: As you play, other and better plans for Boxes 
and Copy-Cats and Playmates will occur to you; these 
are merely suggestive of the simple beginnings that can 
be made for the development of missionary interest in 
the littlest child in your home. 




38 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

MY ALTAR 

"I have worshipped in churches and chapels; 

I've prayed in the busy street; 
I have sought my God and have found Him 

Where the waves of His oceans beat; 
I have knelt in the silent forest 

In the shade of some ancient tree; 
But the dearest of all my altars 

Was raised at my mother's knee. 

The things in my life that are worthy 

Were born in my mother's breast; 
And breathed into mine by the magic 

Of the love her life expressed. 
The years that have brought me to manhood 

Have taken her far from me; 
But memory keeps me from straying 

Too far from my mother's knee. 

God, make me the man of her vision, 

And purge me of selfishness ! 
God, keep me true to her standards 

And help me to Uve to bless! 
God, hallow the holy impress 

Of the days that used to be, 
And keep me a pilgrim forever 

To the shrine at my mother's knee!" 

(John H. Styles, Jr., in "The Christian Herald.") 




CHAPTER II. 

"BEDTIME PRAYERS AND STORIES" 
(For children under six.) 

"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 
Uttered, or unexpressed." 

There is room for some debate whether a child's first 
prayers should be ready-made, to be repeated from mem- 
ory, or a spontaneous expression of his own desires. 
The latter is preferable, of course, and should be the 
end toward which all prepared prayers lead. 

Bedtime, with its "Now I lay me down to sleep", is 
a peculiarly precious time to every mother. After the 
very earthly activities of the day, you feel that there is 
a little touch of the divine in that sweet heaviness of 
the small body pressing drowsily against your knees to 
pray. 

But any prayer is apt to be a bit perfunctory if no 
vital contact or definite information lies in one's mind 
while making it. So before offering any suggestions 
about prayers, let me give a few ideas about the kind 
of bed-time stories which will create such a missionary 
atmosphere that out will burst heartfelt little prayers 
like this: "Oh, dear Jesus, do bless every single one of 
these dear little black girls-who-are-always-'scart'-of- 
something ! I want them to know You are taking care 
of them, so they needn't be a bit afraid any more.' 
There is more value in that breathless petition, than in 
a hundred memorized words, because it is "the soul's 
sincere desire." 

You cannot tell too many missionary stories. Let 
them be woven into each daily event, into each garment 
as it is buttoned on, into each meal, into the very furni- 
ture in your home. Concoct delectable little names to 
describe the unknown children of whom you tell, so that 
certain objects are continually connected in Bobbie's 



40 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

mind with "The Little Girl-Who-Eats-So-Much-Rice", 
"The Boy-Who-Never-Took-a-Bath", "The Girl-Who- 
Has-No-Buttons", "The Family - Who - Never - Use - 
Chairs", "The Tables-That-Never-Grew-Up", "The La- 
dies-Who-Never-Wore-Hats". Into all the quaint un- 
usualness breathe a little of the unhappy heathen long- 
ing for Some Big Somebody Somewhere to love them. 
Of all places, bedtime is indeed the School of Mother's 
Knee, where motives of sympathy and helpfulness can 
be nurtured. Stories are eye-openers and heart-open- 
ers; they are keys to unlock any door; they are magic 
carpets on which you and Bobbie can travel anywhere; 
they are fairy wands to summon unseen playmates; they 
are invisible rings to bind the whole round world into 
one family. 

At the end of this chapter is a list of stories suitable 
for bedtimes, but why not practice making up your own? 
It only needs a little knowledge of missionary lore, plus 
a big love for everybody everywhere, to make quite tame 
events — like baths, and lacing up shoes, and buttoning 
underwear — bristle with fun. The knack of doing it 
will delight you as nothing else, when you see the bub- 
bling response you receive ! A few stories with which to 
begin are given below: 

1. BATH TUB STORIES. (The water at once be- 
comes an ocean, or at the very least a river, and is 
promptly named!) 

(1) If it is the Red Sea then you tell about the 
"Little-Boy-Who-Never-Had-a-Bath! No sir, not one 
tiniest drop of water had ever washed him since he was 
born ! That was not because his mother wanted him to 
be dirty, but because she was positively sure water 
would kill him. You see no one ever told her how to be 
the clean kind of mother, for over in that faraway Land- 
near-the-Red-Sea the Persian People have so very few 
missionaries to teach them that they do the strangest 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 41 

things to babies. Yet you have no idea how hard she 
loved this cunning little fellow who never had a bath! 
She called him the sweetest names, like 'You little Jar 
of Milk and Honey' or 'You Sweet Pomegranate Blos- 
som/ and the dirty baby thought she was just the nicest 
mother in the world. Only of course he wished she 
wouldn't make such mistakes, for one day she gave him 
a perfectly huge pickle to chew on, and by and by he 
had the dreadfullest pain in his tummy, so he yelled as 
hard as he could. She laid him on the hay, as Mary 
used to lay the little Lord Jesus, but this Persian mother 
put seven flat round loaves of bread under her baby's 
head, for the poor Dear hoped the baby's pain would 
jump out of his tummy and skip into the loaves of 
bread ! In the morning she threw the bread outdoors 
for the hungry doggies to gobble up, but the sick little 
baby was just as sick as ever! But we had a fine doctor 
all our very own in that town, and he heard the baby 
moaning, so he came into the stable and carried him out 
to our nice white hospital. Who do you guess tagged 
along behind to see that baby was safe? And what do 
you suppose she did when she found the blue nurse was 
actually going to wash her dirty little boy who had never 
had a bath? My, what a fuss she did make! She jab- 
bered away as fast as she could, she tore her hair, and 
beat her hands on her breast, begging them not to kill 
her sweet little pomegranate blossom, but PLOP! in 
went the dirty baby into the clean water — then splash! 
splash! just as we are doing now, out came a clean 
baby, out of the very dirt y water ! And he cooed and 
gurgled about it; and by and by he got well. So now 
there's one more wise mother in that Land-Near-The- 
Red-Sea who knows that every baby needs a bath every 
day. All on account of a dear Dr. Missionary and a 
sweet Miss Nurse. God bless them all tonight!" 

(2) When the bath tub becomes the Inland Sea of 
Japan you can tell about "The Little Girl Who Gets 



42 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Almost Boiled Every Time She Has a Bath! For over 
in Japan, my dear, the bath tubs look like big round 
barrels, with a little stove set in the side to heat the 
water, and it gets hotter, and hotter and hotter! She 
doesn't really mind it much, because she's so used to it, 
but you would squeal terribly, and would feel as if you 
were being cooked! After she is scrubbed nice and 
clean, her mother dresses her in a dear little blue ki- 
mono with a gay red sash, and she's ready for Sunday 
school. For you and I have the loveliest white ship of 
our own (put sail-boat in bath tub) in that Inland Sea 
of Japan. It is called the Fukuin Maru, — can you say 
that yourself? And it's the sailors from this pretty 
boat who sail around and hold Sunday schools all Sun- 
day afternoon on the different islands. Let's make it 
sail around ! And now make your fingers into little 
Japanese girls and let them skip down to the seashore 
to hear the sailors tell about the Lord Jesus. They 
teach them to sing "Jesus Loves Me", in Japanese, of 
course, and when our little Girl Who Gets Almost 
Boiled When She Has A Bath reaches home, she teaches 
her mother to sing the lovely words, also. And of course 
that's the way people get to be Christians, dear, — when 
somebody goes to tell them. Only there aren't nearly 
enough somebodies to go around ! While I dry you off 
let's sing "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know", and let's 
pretend I'm the mother and you are the dear little Jap- 
anese Girl Who Gets Almost Boiled When She Has A 
Bath. And then let's ask Jesus to bless all the little 
Japanese children." 

(3) When you name the water the China Sea then 
you begin: "Let's pretend that you are the Little Girl- 
Who-Always-Lived-in-a-Boat. You never go on shore, 
and I never go on shore, and Daddy never goes on 
shore. We buy all the things we eat from other People 
Who Always Live in Boats. There would be thousands 
and thousands of Chinese families like ours, and oh 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 43 

dear ! we'd be ever so dirty, and we'd worship idols, and 
be scared of evil spirits all day long. We would have a 
big black eye painted on the front of our boat. What 
for? Oh, so the boat could see the evil spirits, of 
course. But even then we would feel unsafe and un- 
happy all the time, wondering which god would take 
care of us, — only we would have tiny wooden gods or 
little brass ones. Just dolls, really; only we would be 
so hungry for God that we would bow down and pray 
to them. Wouldn't it be just horrid for you and me if 
nobody ever came to tell us about the one true God? 
Then you would get married to somebody from some 
other boat, and your baby would be scared of evil 
spirits, and I would grow into a poor old grandmother 
with white hair — and we would all be scared and lonely 
and hungry for God. There would be boats and boats 
and boats, all full to the brim of dear Chinese families 
who never go on shore, who never saw one of our mis- 
sionaries or heard one littlest word about God. I'm 
sorry, aren't you? Let's tell Jesus how glad we are 
that somebody finally did tell me, so I could tell you. 
and you can tell your babies. And let's pray for the 
other lonely scared Boat People." 

(4) There are all kinds of other water stories — 
about crocodiles on the Congo, and turtles, and birch 
bark Indian canoes. 

2. DRESS STORIES. 

(1) "The People-Who-Made-My-Buttons" (or my 
shoes, my hair ribbons, my "nightie", my hat, etc.) will 
form a series of stories to last a whole year about the 
Jacks-of-All-Trades who plant and sew and weave and 
cook in order to keep girls and boys becomingly clothed. 
"The Forget-me-not Family" in "Primary Mission 
Stories" is along that line; although to begin with, this 
story is suggestive: "Did you know that you and I 
are really Story-Books-That- Walk- Around ? Wouldn't 



44 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

you be surprised if you could see your hair-ribbon turn 
into a story-book, and your shoes turn into another 
story-book, and then before you knew what was hap- 
pening you found yourself wearing a regular library of 
story-books? How you would giggle to find that your 
stockings, your dress, your buttons, your hat, your coat 
and even your tiny gold ring had all become little books, 
labelled like this: "The World's Secret. Volume I. 
How Hair Ribbons Get to be Hair Ribbons", or "The 
World's Secret, Volume IX., Button, Button, Who Made 
the Button?" etc. 

I know exactly what you would do, you would rush 
indoors to show me how queer you looked as a walking- 
library, with a book balancing on your head where your 
hair-ribbon once was, and a book perched on your little 
finger where your gold ring ought to be ! But dear me, 
I would be covered with my own walking-library, my 
volumes called like yours "The World's Secret". Then 
you would notice that the front door had turned into 
a giant book, even the wall-paper and the telephone 
and the carpets and the chairs had all becomes books — 
everything everywhere, — books for you to read about 
"The World's Secret!" And you would say: "I do 
wonder what the secret is, don't you? And I would 
answer: "Oh, but I know already, and every night 
we'll touch something to turn it into a story-book, so T 
can read you about the secret, won't that be fun ?" 

From the suggestions in chapter I. about Jack-in-the 
Box you will gain an idea how to proceed. Three simple 
thoughts to be kept in mind are: first, a dictionary plus 
a little imagination will consturct the story of the im- 
portant stages in the evolution of the articles of cloth- 
ing to be described; second, many different nationalities 
contributed their share in this evolution ; third, we are 
therefore indebted to these unseen workers, whose 
hearts are hungry for God. As far as possible, do not 
limit the workers to American soil: e. g., hair-ribbons 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 45 

could start their career in a Japanese garden, where 
the silk worms feed on the mulberry trees tended by- 
Japanese girls, to be later woven in a Japanese fac- 
tory, brought over the sea by American sailors, etc., 
working in all kinds of races, with all kinds of especial 
needs. 

(2) Of course there are any number of Dress Stories, 
—"Seven Jackets Cold" (Chinese) ; "Pockets Three Feet 
Long" (Japanese kimono sleeves) ; "His Mother Chewed 
His Dress To Make It Soft" (Alaskan way of making 
fur pliable) ; and here is a Button Story which a cer- 
tain small child requests quite often: "Once there was 
a little Girl-Who-Never-Used-A-Button. I know you 
must be thinking that is an easy way to dress; but my 
dear, her little clothes seemed as if they were falling 
off all the time ! They didn't, but they a-1-m-o-s-t did ! 
You see, her dress was called a sari, and it was just a 
straight piece of goods draped around her body ; and all 
day long, every five minutes or so, she would loop her- 
self into her clothes, and then re-loop herself into 
them, and then re-re-loop herself ! It was dreadfully 
tiresome, so I'm sure you'll never grumble when you 
button buttons again, for in the end it's so much quicker 
and more comfy. This Little Girl Who Never Used 
Buttons lived over in India, and she simply couldn't get 
used to the buttons our missionaries wore. Once she 
said to Mr. Missionary: "Please, Sahib, what are the 
rows of buttons on your coat sleeves for? I've watched 
and watched, but I never see you button anything to 
them !" 

You should have heard Mr. Missionary laugh, for, 
after all, what are those funny extra buttons for? I 
don't know ! And he didn't know ! Daddy doesn't 
know, either. But one Christmas morning Mrs. Mis- 
sionary gave a present to the Little Girl Who Never 
Wore Buttons. It was the cunningest little doll, dressed 
by a little girl who lives over here in the land where you 



46 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

and I live. And that doll had a coat, and a dress, and 
a petticoat, and cute little underclothes, every single one 
of which buttoned and unbuttoned! All the grown-up 
neighbors crowded into the mud hut to see that doll, and 
they clucked their tongues over it, and even old grand- 
mothers begged to button and unbutton the clothes, until 
it became a regular Button Town! Then the people 
began going to our mission school to see nice Mr. and 
Mrs. Missionary for themselves, for they said: "If 
the buttons and the clothes of these white people are so 
pleasant to use, perhaps their unseen God can feed our 
empty, hungry hearts. Anyhow we will get down into 
this new religion and see. So they did ; and God did ; 
and I only wish every button on your clothes could 
make somebody happy like that, don't you?" 

3. FURNITURE STORIES. 

(1) Do you want to hear tonight about the Little 
Girl-Who-N ever-W ent-T o-B edf Perhaps you wish you 
were that little girl yourself, for aren't you painting a 
picture of her in your mind's eye, sitting up awfully 
late, even until the moon and the stars themselves 
blinked sleepily and dropped clear out of sight? But 
this Little Girl Who Never Went To Bed did not sit up 
all night, — dear me, no ! For she had to lie down and 
take naps just like children everywhere; but like the 
chickens and the kittens and the puppies she just did 
it by curling up right where she was: over she flopped, 
and slept ! And nobody in the family picked her up and 
carried her gently upstairs to a clean, little, white bed, 
because for one thing, there was no upstairs to her house, 
and for another thing there was no bed ! The whole 
family slept on the floor ! And their neighbors all slept 
on the floor ! And the people in the next village all 
slept on the floor; so now you understand why I called 
her The Little Girl Who Never Went To Bed, don't 
you ? 

She lived over in India. It's hot there, dreadfully 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 47 

hot, like our hottest summer days, and the people get 
sick because they aren't afraid of dirt, and drink bad 
water. So this little girl got sick. And nobody could 
cure her. People came and beat drums ; they shook 
her — oh, so hard; they even burned little places all over 
her to scare away the pain. But you and I know what 
a silly thing that is to do to sick people, and so you 
aren't surprised to learn that she got worse instead of 
better. And yet the poor dears did the very best they 
knew, for she was their pet daughter ! 

Then, oh joy! Along came our very own Dr. Mis- 
sionary jolting through that village in her rickety bul- 
lock cart, which jolted so badly that it jiggled the hair- 
pins out of her hair, and made her nice bones ache and 
ache. Wouldn't it be wonderful if some nice Mrs. Silver 
Moneybags would buy her a cozy little auto, so she 
could whizz from village to village, and help more 
people and not get jolted to pieces? Well, she heard 
of this sick child — in fact she heard the drums! So she 
hurried to the little brown mud hut, and shooed away 
all the noisy neighbors with their drums, and she fanned 
away the flies, and gave her some medicine to make her 
sleep. Then the next day she bundled her into the 
bullock cart and took her right to our hospital. And 
what do you suppose ? Yes, sir ! she put her to bed ! 
So then the Little Girl-Who-Never-Went-To-Bed went 
to bed. And she was simply scared stiff! 

Why? Well, dear me, can't you guess? You see, 
she had always sat on the floor and slept on the floor, 
and now here she was perched way up on a big soft 
white mountain with four legs, and of course she was 
afraid she'd fall off! Just as you and I might feel 
lying on a Heecy white cloud up in the sky. 

"Mem sahib," she begged the doctor, "if I could only 
lie underneath this big whiteness, I would feel so safe !" 

The nice nurses snickered a little up their sleeves, 
but our Doctor Lady took lots of thu'e to explain what 



48 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

a fuss it would make for everyone in the hospital if she 
were hidden under a bed. The question would be, 
which bed? In would come the nurses with medicine, 
and would have to play hide and seek under every bed 
till they found her, and their dear backs would ache 
stooping over to bathe her, or to fan her ! And the 
Little Girl Who Had Never Been to Bed Before nodded 
her head bravely, and decided to be a Heroine and sleep 
up there on the dizzy bed ! 

The nice part about it is that she got well, and when 
she grew older she became a nurse herself, and when 
new patients trembled at lying way up on dangerous 
beds she always knew the nicest, kindest ways of sooth- 
ing them ! She sleeps in a bed every night herself, 
now, and she thinks it is much safer than on the floor; 
and every night she thanks the kind Father in Heaven 
for the soft white bed she lies in. And I think maybe 
you would like to thank Him, too, wouldn't you?" 

(2) Other Furniture Stories would be about the 
Family-Who-Never-Sit-On-Chairs, a Japanese family 
who sit on the soft matting with their legs tucked under 
them, looking for all the world like human letter Zs ! 
They leave their shoes outside the door, so that the mat- 
ting can always be clean, and when the children go 
to our mission school and sit on chairs before their 
desks their poor legs dangle miserably in mid-air, until 
finally they tuck them under them and are comfort- 
able again. Or you might tell about "The Tables- 
That-Never-Grew-Up! My dear, their little legs were 
only three inches high, just the length of my finger! 
But there was no reason why their legs should be longer, 
because they were specially made for the Family Who 
Never Sit on Chairs." Then tell about a Japanese meal 
at these tables, one for each member of the family, and 
how the men eat separately from the women. "The 
Bed-Made-Out-of-Snow" would be about Alaska; where 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 49 

the Eskimo snow house is built with an ice ledge which 
serves as chairs and beds for the family. 

After simple stories like these Bobbie has someone in 
mind to pray for, and he should be encouraged to ex- 
press the feelings in his own way. But there are chil- 
dren who lack the ability to do this, and for them the 
following suggestions may be helpful. Take this verse, 
for instance, as a suggestive basis for prayer: 

SO MANY 

"I've heard about the children 

That live in other lands. 
There are so many that they take 

The fingers of both hands. 
One is for India, I know; 

And one for China — so! 
This is Japan; and this, I think, 

Will stand for Mexico. 
Here is my little finger, and 

Korea it shall be; 
This thumb is South America, 

And this is Italy. 
Here's Burma, and Bulgaria, 

Where there is war today ; 
And I mustn't leave out Africa, 

That needs us most, they say. 
Now don't you think it's pretty hard 

For me to love them all — 
The children in those countries, 

For I am rather small? 
But this is something I can do — 

My hands I'll clasp this way: 
Then God will see the children's names 

And bless them while I pray." 

(Anon.) 



50 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Try having Bobbie name his fingers: Mother, 
Daddy, Sister, Grandma, The Little Girl-Who-Never- 
Went-to-Bed, etc., etc., selecting his own particular lot 
of friends, then clasping these friendly fingers, teach 
him to repeat the Whisper Song, or the Little Brother 
Hymn while his hands are clasped. It will gain in sig- 
nificance as new fingers are named after other stories 
have been told. The best part about it is that such a 
Friendship prayer need never be abandoned, it can 
grow up with him, deepening in power from year to 
year as actual individuals replace the story friends — a 
new rosary of precious names ! We recognize that the 
great need in our churches today is for earnest inter- 
cessors who will bear the needs of others in their hearts 
while communing with God about themselves. 

When the little named fingers of the hand clasp the 
little named fingers of the other hand, you will have ac- 
cepted your divine opportunity to train up intercessors 
at the School of Mother's Knee. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 51 




"Once again, dear Lord, I pray 
For the children far way, 
Who have never even heard 
Jesus' name, our sweetest word. 

Little lips that God has made 
'Neath the far off temple's shade 
Give to gods of wood and stone 
Worship that should be God's own. 

Little hands whose wondrous skill 
God has made to do His will, 
Offerings bring and serve with fear 
Gods that cannot see or hear. 

Teach them, O thou heavenly King 
All their gifts and praise to bring 
To Thy Son, who died to prove 
Thy forgiving, saving love!" 

(Selected.) 



52 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

BED TIME STORY SOURCES. 

"Bed Time Stories" (12 stories. Peabody & McKin- 
ney. 10 cents. F.) 

"Plum Blossom Stories" (Japan). (8 stories. Pea- 
body. 5 cents apiece. F.) 

"Little Black Brother of the Forest" (Africa). (8 
stories. Peabody. 5 cents apiece. F.) 

"Rafaelo and the Seven Bells" (Philippines). (8 
stories. Peabody. 5 cents apiece. F.) 

"Around the World Stories" (Burr. 25 cents. F.) 

"Primary Mission Stories" (52 stories. Applegarth. 
$1.00. F.) 

"Junior Mission Stories" (52 stories. Applegarth. 
$1.00. F.) 

"Home Mission Primer." (10 cents. H.) 

"Growing Up in America." (10 cents. Order from 
Woman's Board of Home Missions, Presbyterian 
Church, 156 Fifth Ave., New York City.) 

NOTE: 

Books and leaflets mentioned in this book are marked: 

(1) F, if they may be ordered from: 

Publication Department, Woman's American 
Baptist Foreign Mission Society, Room 1433, 
Stevens Building, 16 N. Wabash Ave., Chi- 
cago, 111. 

(2) H, if they may be ordered from: 

Literature Department, Woman's American 
Baptist Home Mission Society, 2969 Vernon 
Ave., Chicago, 111. 

(3) Books with no such designation may be ordered 
through a local book store, unless otherwise indicated. 

(4) In ordering, always send money: — Small 
amounts may be paid in postage stamps, larger amounts 
by money order. Postage is charged on all orders, even 
for leaflets marked "free". 



CHAPTER III. 

"THE MYSTERIOUS CHARM OF BUNDLES" 

(For Boys and Girls between Seven and Eleven 
Years Old.) 

The most irresistible method of introducing mission- 
ary playtimes to Aged-Seven-to-Eleven is summed up 
in the five magic words: The mysterious charm of 
bundles ! 

For of course you recognize that there is a charm, 
don't you? Not only on Christmas and birthdays, but 
even after a shopping expedition when you know ex- 
actly what should be lying inside the unopened bundle — 
even then, isn't there a fascination about ripping off the 
string and unfolding the paper which far exceeds what 
you actually expect to find inside? Nobody should ever 
become too hopelessly grown-up or too sophisticated for 
that thrilling moment of suspense that comes just before 
the wrapped-up object is revealed, or similarly, just be- 
fore the letter is withdrawn from the envelope ! It is 
the psychological reason why Jimmie spends his pre- 
cious pennies answering alluring advertisements which 
offer to send sample tubes of tooth paste, cold cream, 
bouillon cubes, etc., in consideration of one or more two- 
cent stamps ! Jimmie hates to clean his teeth, and 
scorns cold cream — but a bundle through the mail ! 
How different! Addressed to him! To be jiggled ex- 
perimentally before opening; to be unwrapped in secret; 
to be admired for a day; and then forgotten. 

"Bundles," then, are the never-failing aids which a 
mother can have at her disposal in starting the mission- 
ary ball rolling. The next two chapters will explain 
in detail how to make, or where to buy, the contents of 
these bundles; the remainder of this chapter gives a de- 
tailed method of procedure, selecting China as the 
country. 



54 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Perhaps it will be a Cold-in-the-Head-Stay-at-Home- 
From-School day which you will choose as a starting 
point, or a Nobody-Loves-Me-What-Shall-I-Do-Now- 
Mother? day! For a first attempt, it is just as well to 
select an off day, when something new is especially 
desirable. 

Let us suppose that the postman has just rung the 
door-bell. You receive the mail, and, unnoticed, slip 
among the other letters an envelope with a used stamp 
carefully re-pasted in the corner, with realistic post- 
marks decorating the top. Little Miss Grumpy has 
tagged you disconsolately to the door, so you say: 
"Sort the mail for me, dear, please." 

Pretty soon: "Why, mother, look, here's a letter for 
me ! Look, it says 'Miss Molly Hathaway' as big as 
life! Now what do you suppose it can be?" 

You (innocently !) : "Suppose you open it and find 
out." 

With bated breath and shining eyes the little Girl- 
who-was-Blue-as-Indigo reads : 

Street of Ten Thousand Moonbeams, China. 
Hathaway Molly, 
Most Exalted and Adorable Friend: 

I guess your excellency doesn't know that you have a 
miserable little new playmate waiting to play with you, 
or you wouldn't keep me smothering in such a perfectly 
absurd place in your book-case ! But here I sit, all tied 
up in this queer bundle, and it's dreadfully stupid, for I 
can't see a thing that's going on in your honorable home, 
and I'm crazy to get out and play with you all day. So 
won't you honorably march on your celestial legs to the 
book-case on the left of the fire-place, and on the third 
shelf from the top you will find me sitting patiently be- 
hind a book called "Our Mutual Friend." 

With Ten Thousand Thank Yous, 

Wang Huantzi. 
(Written by Tai Fah Min, the village scholar.) 

You may be quite sure that Molly will tear to the 
book-case, and after an excited search find the delect- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 55 

able bundle, neatly tied and labelled: "A New Play- 
mate for Molly." You will be amused to watch her 
jiggle it to see if it makes a noise! Children almost 
always do ! But not a sound comes from this waiting 
playmate. So Molly whisks off the paper and string, 
and brings to light a demure little Chinese rag doll. 
(See chapters IV. and V. for patterns.) 

"Oh my! Oh my! Isn't she cute, mother? And do 
look, here's a roll of yellow paper ! Isn't it dreadfully 
long? Oh goody, it's another letter." 

Unrolling the narrow scroll, she reads: 

Precious maiden with the heavenly name of Hathaway 

Molly, 

I miserahly thank you for unwrapping me, and since I'm 
still a bit stiff from sitting cooped up in the book-case so 
long, perhaps you will help me to bow way way over, in 
true Chinese fashion, — for although I'm miserably stupid, 
I must remember to be very polite. That is the reason I 
shall always call you, and everything you do, "honorable" 
or "exalted" or "celestial"; while the poor things I do, 
I must humbly call "unworthy" or "miserable" or "mod- 
est". 

I wonder if you are honorably thinking that my miser- 
able clothes look queer for a girl; permit me to inform 
you that all girls in China wear trousers, though, and 
grown-up women do, too. You would honorably giggle 
to see how I look in winter, for on cold days I put on one 
jacket, then another and another and another, and so on 
until perhaps I can wriggle into seven jackets! I look 
like a plump ball or a pin-cushion, as I say "B'rrr! It's 
SEVEN JACKETS COLD today, isn't it?" Of course 
after I've played around I get warmer, then I peel off a 
layer or two of jackets and begin to look positively thin. 

My name is Wang Huantzi. Wang is my family name, 
which we always say first in China, and Huantzi is my 
own name, which means "Change-into-a-brother". Perhaps 
you can guess from that how much my parents wanted a 
boy-baby instead of a girl, when I was born. Parents feel 
that way all over China! I have one friend named Ling 
Te, which means "Lead-along-a-brother", and another 
friend was so unwelcome that they didn't trouble to give 
her any name, they just called her "Number Two"! If 
you ever visit my house you will understand why parents 



56 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

want sons instead of daughters. 

By the way, did you know my mother was visiting you 
today, too? You will find her sitting behind the brown 
velvet sofa cushion in the window seat! Please fold up 
the paper I was humbly wrapped in, and carry it and 
my miserable self over to my poor mother. 

Yours stupidly, 

Huantzi. 
(Written by Tai Fall Min, village scholar.) 

The blue Molly should be somewhat of a sunbeam by 
this time, as she prances to the sofa cushion, behind 
which a second bundle awaits her, also another long 
scroll letter — this time of a different color. The letter 
reads : 

Hathaway Molly, 
Glorious Miss: 

I am the little Chinese Mother who never has her own 
way! It makes flowers bloom in my heart to see your 
smiling American face, and I hope you will gently cherish 
my wretched little Huantzi today. 

Chinese mothers who never have their own way are 
never happy and free like your own dear mother. For 
one thing our husbands must be called "lord and master", 
and they never speak of us as wives, but always as "My 
Inner Person", or "She Who Occupies My Inner Apart- 
men", or "My Walk-Behind". Perhaps you can guess 
from this what meek, unimportant little persons we feel 
ourselves to be; for if I ever do have the high honor of 
appearing outdoors on the street with my lord and master 
I wouldn't dare walk beside him as your mother does be- 
side your father; oh dear me, no! I would have to 
meekly trot behind him, with my eyes meekly looking at 
the ground. That's how I get the name "The Walk-Be- 
hind". The other two names I get because Chinese women 
live in a separate part of the house from the fathers and 
sons. It all sounds very stupid and unloving; sometimes 
I wish I could live like your mother for just ten minutes, 
but more than all I wish pool little Huantzi could grow 
up to a happier lot. 

Allow me to miserably inform you that my lordly hus- 
band and my precious son have condescended to pay you 
a visit today also, and as they hate to be kept waiting, 
perhaps you had better fold up the piece of paper I was 
wrapped in and carry Huantzi and me over to the sofa, 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 57 

behind which Mr. Wang is scowling and gnawing his big 
mustache impatiently. 

Miserably yours, 
Little Mother Wang Who Never Has Her Own Way. 
(Written by Tai Fah Min, village scholar.) 

Running to the sofa Molly will discover the lordly 
Mr. Wang and his superior son, and this letter: 

Marvelous Female! 

I will not use up the air in compliments of great length, 
although I am absolutely amazed at your exalted educa- 
tion. A GIRL READ? Why, celestial young lady, I 
never dreamed it was possible before, since neither my 
stupid Walk-Behind nor my silly young daughter can 
either read or write the tiniest little word. Indeed, in all 
our village there is not a single female with any learning 
of any kind. My son and I have been talking over your 
remarkable education, as we noticed how easily you read 
the letters which my Inner-Person and my ignorant girl- 
child dictated to our village scholar, a poor man who 
earns his living by writing letters for people who can't 
write. So my son and I have decided to ask you to come 
to China and open a school in our village for girls. Per- 
haps you are clever enough to knock some new ideas into 
their empty heads. It miserably gives me pleasure to in- 
vite you to visit us in our insignificant home, which you 
will find located in the S. E. corner of the Sewing Room 
upstairs (or outdoors; wherever you wish Molly to play). 
Sweetly condescend to carry all four of us upstairs to 
our miserable home, and oblige, 

Your astonished and admiring host, 

Mr. Wang. 

Molly skips upstairs with her four new playmates, 
and discovers their red-roofed home in the designated 
spot. For the rag dolls, specified in chapter IV., this 
house can be made out of a hat-box and some red card- 
board according to directions in chapter V. Smaller 
cardboard dolls will fit into a smaller house, of course. 
For this first attempt, you should prepare all the objects 
needed, so that there need be no hitches, but everything 
ready to captivate Molly and make her feel that of all 
games this new one is certainly the "thrillingest, cheer- 



58 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

fullest, bestest" one she ever played. On other days, 
when other countries are to be visited, Molly will 
understand the ropes well enough to enjoy making the 
houses for herself. The only exception to the above 
suggestion is in case there is a Stay-At-Home-Jimmie 
on hand, also ! 

Dolls and playhouses may not seem in a boy's do- 
main, but I believe you could interest almost any Jimmie 
in these bundles and letters, provided he has a mechan- 
ical frame of mind, and enjoys making things according 
to directions. He would receive a letter in the morning 
mail, also: 

THE CHINESE HOUSE BUILDING ASSOCIATION 

Hathaway Jimmie, 
Most Distinguished Sir: 

Permit me to bring our unworthy business to your hon- 
orable attention, for we are agents for the building of 
Chinese homes. 

We understand you are not only a clever architect but 
also an accomplished builder, so we are venturing to ap- 
proach you with the remarkable request that you build 
a house for one of our clients within the next thirty min- 
utes. This unfortunate gentleman, Mr. Wang, has just 
lost his former residence by earthquake, and finds him- 
self in a most distressing situation, for he has just met 
your magnificent sister, Hathaway Molly, and has invited 
her to visit him and his family in the S. E. corner of the 
Sewing Room. So unless you can rebuild his home, the poor 
gentleman will be unable to entertain her suitably. You 
will find blue prints containing full directions in the 
above-mentioned room, and we modestly request that you 
jump rapidly up stairs and busy your honorable fingers 
at this new task. 

Yours insignificantly, 
The Chinese House Building Association. 

Upstairs he will find box, cardboard, brass fasteners, 
etc., and suggestions so that he can get to work, and 
with your assistance have the home almost ready by the 
time Molly gets upstairs. He can then assist making 
the sedan chair, temple, hospital beds, etc., according to 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 69 

directions in chapter V. Or, if there is no Molly in 
your family for whom such playthings are to be made, 
by letters and bundles he might be led to construct 
houses of all kinds around the world, and become a Real 
Estate Agent; or to conduct an Oriental Livery Stable 
with the various "go" vehicles of the Orient: jinrikishas, 
sedan chairs, bullock carts, etc. ; or start a Boat House 
with sampans, canoes, etc. There are endless things he 
may be led to make, if the letters are enticing enough; 
and even without a Molly to use them, your Primary 
Superintendent will delight to borrow them for Sunday 
school missionary lessons, so that his efforts will be in- 
structive to himself and to others. 

This, however, is a digression, for several paragraphs 
back we left Molly skipping upstairs to the Chinese 
house. Another narrow scroll letter accompanies it: 
"Won't You Come Into My Parlor?" is written on the 
flap; inside it reads: 

Welcome to China, Worshipful Maiden! 

Your lovely eyes will notice some queer things about 
this house, which do not seem queer to the Wang family 
because they are so used to them. Kindly cast your 
brown orbs upon the quaint red tipped-up roofs, for you 
will learn with astonishment that the roofs tip up because 
the Chinese think the air is full of unseen evil spirits. 
These wicked spirits are crazy to sneak indoors to hurt 
people, so the wise Chinese families build the roof corners 
very sharp and tipped up at the ends, so that when a 
naughty evil spirit comes rushing toward the front door 
he will hit himself bang! against one of those sharp cor- 
ners and be shot pell-mell way into the air! This isn't a 
joke, Glorious Molly, but a sad, everyday Chinese belief, 
and when you open your school in this village you must 
remember to teach the children all about Jesus and His 
great love, and how God takes care of everybody every- 
where. 

Also rest your heavenly eyes on the gaudy pictures 
pasted on the inside of the front door. That is a "door- 
god", for Mr. Wang and all the other Wangs believe that 
this ugly paper idol protects the door by scaring away 
any evil spirit who might try to poke its wicked nose in- 



60 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

doors ! You must stop this, too, when you start your 
school. Teach the children Psalm 121, so they will know 
God protects their going out and their coming in, with- 
out any silly paper idol. 

If you peep inside the house you will see a stiff row of 
chairs on each side of the room, with a table at the end on 
which are some funny-looking slabs of wood. That table 
is the most sacred place in the whole house, for these 
wooden slabs are called Ancestral tablets, and Mr. Wang 
believes that the spirit of his dead father came back to 
live in one of the slabs, and the spirit of his dead mother 
lives in another slab. So every day he kneels and lights 
incense before the tablets, and worships them. His son 
does the same thing, but no girl is allowed to do it. 
That is the reason Chinese parents want boys instead of 
girls, so there will surely be sons to worship before their 
tablets when they are dead. You will have a thing or two 
to say against this custom when you teach school, won't 
you? 

And now please glance here and there about the room 
to discover various bundles. Open "number 1" first, then 
"number 2," etc. 

Yours modestly, 

The Chinese House With Tip-Up Roofs. 

On the outside of "Bundle Number 1" is written: 
"A Chinese Auto !" Inside is a sedan chair, easily made 
from a box by following the directions in chapter V. 
Another scroll letter accompanies it: 

Hathaway Molly, 

Honorable Sitter in American Chairs: 

I am a kind of chair you have probably never seen 
before, for I never go indoors, and as for standing still, 
I hardly know what it means, for I'm always "on the go", 
walking somewhere ! And yet I have no legs, only four 
poles for arms, so I can't do my own wlking. I have 
chairmen to walk for me — not the kind of chairmen that 
committees have, however ! My chairmen are poor fel- 
■■ lows called coolies, who wear tattered clothes and who lug 
me about by my arms all day, — one in front, and one 
behind. My arms are so long that they bump into people 
on the street, and knock over peanut stands, etc. Please 
put Mrs. Wang and Huantzi inside of me, and pretend 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 61 

you are the poor coolies while you carry us to "Bundle 
Number 2." 

And oblige, yours helplessly, 

A Chinese Sedan Chair. 

On this second bundle is written "A Chinese Temple," 
made according to directions in chapter V. On opening 
it, Molly finds a temple with green roofs, an idol 
painted inside and a tiny bell hung over the doorway. 
A long scroll contains this letter: 

Alas ! Alas ! Sweet Christian Molly, 

I am a Chinese Heathen Temple, and I am really very 
unhappy about it, because for hundreds of years every 
Chinese temple like me has seen a great deal of foolish- 
ness and sadness. Here I stand year by year with this 
silly idol inside me, painted to look horrible, and scare 
away evil spirits. Of course I can tell the idol is nothing 
more than a foolish doll, for he can't budge an inch, he 
can't move a finger, or wink an eye, or speak a word. Yet 
day after day our poor Chinese people bring presents to 
him, and ring the bell in the doorway to wake the old idol 
up! But of course he can't hear. 

Mrs. Wang has brought Huantzi here today because 
the poor girl has a pain in her stomach. Mrs. Wang fears 
it is an evil spirit inside her, and she hopes the idol can 
chase it away. You must please help her out of the 
sedan chair, and lead her up to the bell in my doorway, 
which she rings. She and Huantzi then come inside, and 
bow way over to the floor several times, after which Mrs. 
Wang will do a very silly thing: she will rub the idol's 
stomach and then rub Huantzi's stomach, hoping the 
ache will skip from Huantzi into the idol. But the poor 
girl has just as hard a pain as ever! No wonder! When 
you open your Christian School in our village, you can 
teach them Psalm 115:2-8 until they learn what useless 
things idols really are. Kindly turn coolie again and carry 
them in their sedan chair to "Bundle Nnumber 3." 

Your Melancholy Chinese Temple. 

This third bundle is labelled: "Owl of Wisdom, 
M. D." Opening it Molly finds another Chinese doll ; if 
you use the rag doll set, he will be the one wearing the 
big horn glasses. Around his neck hangs a small black 



62 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

medicine case containing a darning needle, a pill and a 
nail. This letter accompanies him: 

Most Radiant Maiden: 

I hope you have peace inside you, for I am the Chinese 
man of medicine in this village, and a very wise old fellow 
I am, for my medicine books are over 2,000 years old. I 
have no use for any silly modern medicine notions. You 
bring Huantzi to me, and I will prick her body with my 
long needle to let the evil spirit run out of her. Of course 
she will squeal, but I will jab her some more to give that 
naughty evil spirit other places to leave! Dear me, hear 
the silly child yell and scream. She seems just as sick as 
ever, so I shall have to burn her with this red-hot nail to 
scare away the evil spirits, and if that does no good I will 
give her this pill made of a little tiger bone, a dried 
grasshopper, some rusty iron and a piece of toe-nail. You 
can plainly see what a wise Owl of Wisdom I am ! But 
dear me, how frightfully Huantzi does scream! Mrs. 
Wang, kindly remove this squawling brat from my pres- 
ence! Good-bye, madame. 

Your obedient servant, 

Dr. Owl of Wisdom. 

The next three bundles contain three of Molly's own 
dolls, redressed. In Number Four is a doll fixed up as a 
Red Cross nurse, in apron and cap. Around her neck is 
a string attached to a homeopathic pill bottle full of 
little colored candies. A label on the bottle reads : 
"Headache — 1 pill ; Cold in the head — 2 pills ; Measles 
— 3 pills; Mumps — 5 pills; Stomach-ache — 6 pills." 
Accompanying her is a note with a red cross at the top : 

Darling Mistress Molly, 

I am your own little doll, Dorothy (real name) and I 
really don't know what you will think of me for daring to 
do what I've done ! For Mistress Molly, when I heard poor 
little Huantzi yelling and saw the dreadful needle of the 
hateful Chinese doctor, I rushed off to a Nurses' Training 
School and said: "Teach me to be a good nurse as quick as 
you can, for I've simply got to go China at once!" So I 
studied and studied and studied, until I graduated. Then 
I went to our Baptist Board in Boston and I said to the 
nice ladies there: "I'm all ready to go to China as a mis- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 68 

sionary nurse; can you send me at once?" The dear 
things were so delighted and yet so worried, for they knew 
how dreadfully I will be needed and yet they haven't 
enough money for my salary or to build me a hospital. 
But I said I knew you would give something toward help- 
ing dear little Huantzi and her friends, so here I am, dear 
Mistress Molly! You do approve of my coming, don't you? 
And you will help me? 

Your devoted 

(Dorothy.) 

Bundle Number 5 discloses another of Molly's dolls 
transformed into a school teacher. A slate, slate pen- 
cil, pieces of paper and tiny pencil should accompany 
her, also a little hand-made note book called "Sugges- 
tion to Chinese Teachers," containing this list: 

(1) Verses to teach Chinese pupils (John 3:16. 
Exodus 20:2-18. Psalm 115:2-8. Psalm 121. 
Isaiah 44:10-19.) 

(2) Hymns to teach Chinese pupils — "Jesus loves 
me this I know," in Chinese, as in Chapter 

, VII. "Trust and Obey. "He Leadeth Me." 

(3) Health Hints, etc., etc., etc. 
This letter comes with the Teacher Doll: 

Miss Molly Hathaway 
My dear Owner, 

When I saw (Dorothy) dashing off to be a nurse, I 
said to myself: "Oh, I want to do something for those 
dear Chinese people, too." So I went to the same nice 
Baptist Board of Managers in Boston, and said: "Ladies, 
could I please go to China as a teacher?" They smiled 
all over their faces ; and then they almost cried ! I never 
saw anything so much like April showers ! They said 
it was because there wasn't enough money to build me a 
school house even if they sent me, and vet they had been 
praying somebody would come along to help; so they 
would send me over. And here I am! You're probably 
ever so upset to have both Dorothy and myself make our 
own plans without consulting you, but won't you please 



64 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

remember how dreadfully Huantzi and her mother need 
us? And won't you help me start a school? 
Yours respectfully, 

(Belinda.) 

"Bundle Number 6" contains another one of Molly's 
dolls, quite the most stylish, in hat and coat, with a lit- 
tle bag slung over her arm. In this bag are to be pieces 
of paper money, each labelled with an amount of money, 
stating below what that money will do in China. Some 
of it should be cut from silver paper in circles for nick- 
les, dimes and quarters ; some cut in gold circles ; still 
others in greenback bills. A few blank checks to be 
filled in will serve the double purpose of teaching Molly 
simple banking, while she learns what money will do 
in Mission lands: 

5 cents will pay Huantzi's tuition in (Belinda's) 
Christian day school 1 day. 

10 cents will buy 5 copies of the gospels. 

25 cents will feed a Chinese orphan 1 week. 

50 cents will support a bed in Dorothy's hospital 1 
week. 

$1.00 will send out a Chinese Bible woman 2 weeks, 
so she can visit 50 homes and tell 200 people about Jesus. 

$1.00 will pay a missionary teacher's salary for more 
than half a day. 

$3.00 will pay a nurse's salary for 1 day. 

$10.00 will buy 200 copies of the gospels for free dis- 
tribution. 

$25.00 will endow a bed in a Chinese hospital for one 
year. 

$100.00 will supply medicine for Dorothy's hospital 
for 1 year. 

$650.00 will pay Dorothy's salary for 1 year. 

$650.00 will pay Belinda's salary for 1 year. 

$3,500.00 will build a hospital for Dorothy. 

$3,500.00 will build a school for Belinda. 

There may be re-divisions of these funds so that there 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 65 

may be plenty of money to be spent for various objects. 
This letter accompanies the doll: 

Hello, Miss Molly! 

Aren't you dreadfully surprised to see me way over 
here in China? The truth of the matter is I've been a 
nervous wreck, and when I went to the doctor he felt 
my pulse and said very seriously: "Jemima, you are 
in a bad way! You certainly need a change of air; you 
really must travel for your health." 

Of course on account of the war and the reconstruction, 
I didn't dare go to Europe, so I chose China. My dear 
uncle died a month ago and left me all his wealth, so 
'your Jemima Silver Money Bags' is now dreadfully rich!! 
But I'm not a bit stuck-up! To tell the truth, I'm rather 
lonely, and wondering how I can amuse myself and 
spend all this money. Dorothy and Belinda want me to 
send them money for their new hospital and school, but 
I thought I ought to come and see their work for myself 
before sending them checks. Then I trust your judg- 
ment, too, you've brought me up so beautifully thus far 
that if you say: "Jemima, spend $100 for this!" then I 
will spend $100 gladly. For I'm not mean, and I want 
to help in the ways you suggest to me. The Wangs have 
courteously invited Dorothy, Belinda and me to have tea 
with them today, so will you please show me their house, 
and tell me all the queer things that seem so heathenish? 
Then while we"re at tea we can plan for building the 
school and hospital, and shouldn't we have a church build- 
ing, too ? I'd love to be a Sunday school teacher ! 
Your eager and devoted friend, 

Jemima Silver Money-bags. 

You will notice a little thread of continuity in the let- 
ters, leading Molly on and on to the next thing ! She 
should want to begin playing school and hospital at 
once, with all the delightful extras that can be added 
here and there ! 

The space underneath any chair forms an ideal place 
for a school room. Try hanging on the rungs of one 
or two chairs little "TO RENT" signs ! "FOR SALE. 
This building is ideal for a school, the roof being of 
cane assures the pupils of good ventilation, but owner 



66 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

refuses to sell to Christians, as he fears evil spirits from 
America might fly over into his premises adjoining. 
Price $3,000. Apply to Dr. Owl of Wisdom." 

This will bring the doctor doll and Miss Silver 
Money-Bags into confab, while she argues him into sell- 
ing and assures him there are no evil spirits anywhere. 
Then there will be all the fun of fitting up the school 
house. A toy piano is easily made (pattern in chap- 
ter V.), for which Miss Money-Bags gives $425. The 
slate can be set up against the chair rounds for a 
blackboard, and a desk made from a box. 

"Hospital" is even more fun to play, for toy beds, or 
cardboard ones, can be placed in rows, made according 
to pattern in Chapter V. Miss Money-Bags endows each 
bed at $25 a year. An ambulance can be made, similar 
to a bullock cart, with a red cross on each side, and the 
word: "Baptist Mission Hospital and Dispensary." 

It is in quaint little ways like these that seeds will 
take root in Molly's mind which can never be pulled up 
later on. She will know the needs, and the fact that 
answering those needs costs definite sums of money, and 
she will have had the princely pleasure of paying for 
them all herself ! This is a game that can be re-played 
from day to day, with variations, any number of chil- 
dren can play it, and envelopes containing leaflets on 
China can be inserted in the morning mail from time to 
time. "How Long Must I Wait?" (2 cents); "Chinese 
Children at Work and Play (2 cents) ; "Chinese Polly- 
ana" (2 cents) ; "Who Will Open The Door for Ling 
Te?" (5 cents) are among the best of the cheaper leaf- 
lets. Stories may be read, too, from the books men- 
tioned, and some of the games in chapter XL will fol- 
low up the plans successfully. 

Provide a large envelope where all the Chinese "let- 
ters" may be stored, and if possible devote part of a 
closet to Molly's missionary playhouses. The dolls and 
smaller articles can be neatly packed inside the houses. 



CHAPTER IV. 

"INCREASING THE DOLL FAMILY" 

Ever since reading the mere title of Zona Gale's book 
"Mothers To Men", it has lain in my mind what a pity 
it is to let little girls be mothers to dolls of their own 
nationality only! The reason lots of people never be- 
lieve in missions is actually a complacent contempt for 
anyone who dresses and looks and speaks so differently 
from themselves — "different skin, different needs", "in- 
ferior races, my dear!" But just as a mother's love in- 
stinctively protects every one of her children — deformed 
or beautiful — so little girl mothers will also develop 
an affectionate protection over every member of their 
doll families, no matter how peculiar those dolls may 
be. One cannot but feel that the little girl with a 
world family of dolls to love is more likely to grow up 
loving the world family of real people. Especially 
when all their queernesses have been intimately ex- 
plained away, and methods of relieving their troubles 
have formed her playtimes for months. 

After a first increase to the doll family, as described 
in preceding chapter, nothing as elaborate need be at- 
tempted again. And yet do not be too casual in hand- 
ing over the next new dolls. A little mystery goes a 
long way toward maintaining charm! And the facile 
knack of letter-writing will make the dolls almost like 
living personalities. Also, because variety is the spice 
of life, the newcomers need not always arrive in the 
same fashion. Imagine the thrill of awaking some morn- 
ing and finding a little Miss Waterfall sitting patiently 
beside your pillow, with a cute note saying: "Ohayo, 
O Molly San, which really means in English, 'Honor- 
ably early (good morning) honorable Miss Molly'! 
Permit me to rudely request that you condescend to 
put on your honorable clothes and eat your honorable 



68 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

breakfast, then spend the rest of the day playing in 
Japan with me." 

Or if Molly helps with the housework, what fun to 
find two cunning negro dolls perched industriously be- 
side the dish-pan, with a note: "O, pale Whiteness of 
Whiteness, let the gold dust twins do your work ! And 
after we three finish the dishes, let's travel way up- 
stairs to Africa and build a kraal, shall we?" Or per- 
haps, some little Eskimo twins could demurely guard a 
mound of vanilla ice cream, moulded to represent an 
"igloo": "It grieves us that you are going to eat up 
our little snow house, Giantess Molly, but perhaps after 
you are full of a cold Alaskan igloo you will be quite 
ready to play house in a new snow igloo we will build 
out in the yard this afternoon." 

There will be numberless ingenious ways of introduc- 
ing the doll playmates, and the unexpected quality will 
make them doubly appreciated. In each case the requi- 
site homes and other paraphernalia should be ready, or 
on hand for Molly to make herself. This chapter deals 
with preparing dolls, the next chapter solves the house- 
furniture-and-vehicle problem ! 

1. DOLLS THAT CAN BE BOUGHT. 

There are five sets of dolls, with story books, all 
ready-to-serve ! They are : 

(1) "Se\)en Chinese Rag Dolls," also model bound 
foot, and booklet explaining characters. (75 cents. F.) 

(2) "African Curio Set," consisting of two negro 
dolls, kraal outfit, book of stories. ($1.50. F.) 

(3) "Japanese Curio Set," consisting of two Jap- 
anese dolls, prayer house, knick-knacks, stories. 

($1.50. F.) 

(4) "American Indian Object Lesson," consisting 
of two Indian dolls, tepee, stories. ($1.50. H.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 69 

(5) "Jack and Janet Paper Dolls" (25 cents, F.) to 
go with book "Around the World With Jack and Janet." 
(25 cents. F.) 

In addition to the above you can find at the doll 
counters in most stores dark-skinned negro and Amer- 
ican Indian dolls which can be quaintly re-dressed as 
Africans, Alaskans, Hindus, Burmese, Moslems, etc. 
They will range all the way from 10 cents to $1.00 in 
price, according to size, and whether they are rag, china 
or celluloid. Also in the Five and Ten Cent Stores you 
can often find Alaskan dolls in white fur suits and 
Indian dolls in gorgeous feather headgear and khaki 
suits. At Japanese stores, Jap dolls of all sizes may 
be bought for 5 cents up, together with tiny fans, para- 
sols and lanterns. 

In order to become an Oriental Dress-maker send for 
leaflet "Oriental Costumes and How to Make Them" 
(2 cents. F.), which not only shows pictures but de- 
scribes how to drape the goods; the paper doll cuts in 
this chapter will also show how the finished product 
should look. 

Any white doll may become an immigrant, nurse, mis- 
sionary, doctor or a wealthy Miss Silver Money-Bags. 
There is no doubt but that these real dolls will be ac- 
tually loved, while cardboard dolls are generally just 
played with! 

2. BOTTLE DOLLS. 

If you cannot afford buying enough dolls of each kind 
to be actors in the little dramas suggested, and yet de- 
sire something more substantial than cardboard dolls, 
try camouflaging bottles. You must admit they seem 
manufactured expressly for the purpose of being big 
papa bottles, and slighter mamma bottles, and tiny baby 
bottles, with plenty of in-between sizes. 



70 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Glue the cork in the bottle, then form a good-sized 
wad of absorbent cotton into a ball around the cork, and 
cover it smoothly with cream, tan, yellow or brown- 
colored cotton material according to the nationality and 
tie this "skin" around the neck firmly, pasting the loose 
flaps neatly over the shoulders and front and back of 
the bottle. Arms may be made by stuffing absorbent 
cotton into two long bags of the same cotton "skin" 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 71 

material, which may then be both sewed and pasted to 
the "skin" shoulders. To protect the glass from break- 
age it is well to paste a thin layer of absorbent cotton 
all over the bottle, and then drape on the desired cos- 
tume, made from odds and ends of colored cotton or 
silk. This should be sewed to the underneath layer of 
cotton, and so kept in place. Features may be drawn 
with pen and India ink, cheeks lightly painted pink. 
Hair may be either painted on, which is satisfactory; or, 
black yarn, black darning cotton or black rope silk may 
be sewed on in equal lengths ; or, real hair may be sewed 
in place; then it may be braided, coiled or bobbed in the 
proper fashion. 

(3) CLOTHES-PIN DOLLS will amuse the very 
little girls and boys, but older girls will not like them 
nearly as much as the more individual and piquant But- 
ton Face families. The head of the clothes-pin should 
have a tiny face drawn with pen and India ink — two 
dashes for eyebrows, four dots for eyes, nose and mouth, 
also a bit of rouge, of course. Clothes can be made of 
colored tissue paper, crepe paper, cotton, silk, or even 
heavy weight paper cut out into double suits, — one thick- 
ness for each side of the doll, to be overcast at the 
seams. Black yarn, glued to the flat top of the clothes- 
pin head, is the best hair. 

4. TWIG DOLLS are whimsical, but not very dur- 
able, as they break easily, but for outdoor playmates or 
as an occasional visitor indoors, they are surprisingly 
good fun. Twigs are rather better if taken from trees 
having opposite rather than alternate leaves — e. g., 
maple, ash, balsam, fir (these latter stripped of needles) 
are good, although twigs from other trees show comical 
contours of "arms" and "legs". Generally some extra 
legs and arms have to be carefully amputated, after 
which simply paste double thicknesses of paper heads, 
hands and feet to the five extremities of the twig, after 



72 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 





these have been gently whittled smooth and flat, so that 
these ends lie wedged between the double thicknesses. 
Heads may easily be traced from any of the drawings in 
this chapter. 

5. CARDBOARD DOLLS. 

Quite good-sized cardboard dolls, anywhere from 12 
to 24 inches long, may be cut from two thicknesses of 
fairly heavy colored cardboard. Paste the two layers 
of heads and shoulders together, and spread feet apart 
to enable doll to stand alone. By using brightly tinted 
cardboard you get plenty of variety in color without 
needing to paint much. In case the cardboard is too 
brilliant for convincing faces, then tan, brown or j^ellow 
paper faces and necks may be pasted over the too-gor- 
geous cardboard faces. 

Use the same patterns as suggested for Button Face 
dolls, enlarged. The gentle art of "making faces" is 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 73 

decidedly subtle to the person quite sure she is not an 
artist ! 

The dot-and-dash methods will be the salvation of all 
beginners — two dashes for eyebrows, two nice big black 
dots for eyes, an insignificant dot for a nose, and an 
astonished little o for a mouth ! Practice making them 
in idle moments — while waiting for phone connections. 
As a matter of fact little girls are not such connoisseurs 
in faces as you might imagine ! One's very worst at- 
tempts are generally accepted as all right, provided the 
costumes are gay enough, and an alluring letter intrigues 
the imagination. Extra sets of dresses are most accept- 
able, of course, and may be cut from colored paper. 

The Oriental Cardboard Dress-maker needs five uten- 
sils: (1) colored cardboard, usually 6 cents a sheet at 
Wholesale and Retail Paper Stores; (2) tube of Denni- 
son's paste or glue (10 cents); (3) bottle of Higgins' 
India Drawing Ink" (waterproof, 25 cents) ; (4) book 
of Eastman Kodak "Velox Transparent Water Color 
Stamps" (35 cents), or any paints you may already 
have. These suggested come in 10 exceptionally clear 
and vivid colors. Simply wet (5) paint brush in glass 
of water and rub directly onto the colored cardboard. 
By using plenty of water, and by always testing color on 
piece of waste paper before applying to doll, good re- 
sults ought to be easily attained. The India Ink for 
hair, pantaloons and all big surfaces should be applied 
with paint brush, but for marking faces, outlining gar- 
ments or designs a pen is best. 

6. BUTTON FACE DOLLS. 

These smaller cardboard dolls, three to six or seven 
inches high, are very lovable ! They are most amusingly 
provided with bone corset button faces : the kind with 
two round holes for tape to go through, such as are 
often used for children's underwear. If you are plan- 
ning to make whole neighborhoods of dolls in the course 



74 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

of your career, it will pay to buy a gross box of the 
buttons — 35 cents for 144 faces! It is impossible to 
prove by any pen and ink drawing how winsome these 
ready-made faces look — the hollows for the eyes are 
so realistic, all you need to do is to make a penciled dot 
inside each hole for the pupil, two India ink dashes 
for eyebrows, a dot for the nose, a tiny o for the sur- 
prised mouth ! Hair may be inked in by pen, and a 
little pink paint delicately applied to cheeks. These 
bone faces are to be glued onto the cardboard dolls, 
which should be cut from double thicknesses of colored 
cardboard, the two heads and shoulders pasted together 
so that the feet may spread apart to support the doll- 
Six and seven inch dolls are parents; two, three and 
four inch dolls babies and children. By using a variety 
of colors a whole village may be made, instead of the 
two pictured here. In these drawings where only two 
figures are shown, it means that the children are merely 
shorter editions of papa and mamma dolls, or vice versa. 

7. THE LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE is just 
around the corner from every child. So, with the de- 
signs which follow, appear the beginnings of letters to 
accompany each doll, whether Button-Face, Bottle, or 
real; for without such details to go by, there will be 
little impetus for Molly to enact these miniature dra- 
matics to the best advantage. The book references 
which finish out the shorter notes are stories which offer 
plot ideas for the doll actors to dramatize. Dolls for 
Nurses, Doctors, Missionaries, Travelers, etc., should be 
included in each set. Alphabetically the dolls for each 
country follow: 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 75 

AFRICA. 





Figure 8 
Boy. 



Figure 4. 
Girl. 



Figure 5 
Mother. 



Directions: For boys — the waist bands in various 
bright colors; for girls — little grass skirts, in tawny 
brown; for women — cloth wrapped around body, bright 
colors. Brass ornaments painted with gilt (10 cents a 
jar). If Button Face dolls are to be used the bone 
button may be painted black, all but a red mouth. The 



76 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

eye hollows will show the white cardboard behind very 
realistically. Men dolls dressed same as boy. Feet 
must always be cut out very flat and extra large so these 
cardboard dolls may stand ! 

Letters : 

1. Girl— 

"Very Valuable White Molly, 

How much are you worth? My father said last week 
in the palaver house that I was worth five brass rods, 
thirty glass beads, one plow and one goat. Brass rods 
and beads are money in Africa, you know, and girls are 
just things, to be sold to anybody. My name is Chik- 
ondawanga, which means 'Rustling Grass' in Eng- 
lish. You can read about mother and me in " 

"Other Children." (2 cents. F.) 

"Brass Rods and Beads." (2 cents. F.) 

"Wife That Cost Ten Cows." (2 cents. F.) 

Pages 20-23, "Through Eye of Needle." (10 cents. F.) 

Names for other girl dolls: — Ngomomo (Rainy Day), 
Majikenza (Little Breeze), Nlem Ngon (Heart of a 
Girl), Osoneman (End of Shame). 

2. Boy — 

"Pale Whiteness-Never-Afraid ! 

We are always scared of something in my country — 
of the palm leaves that rustle overhead, of the birds 
that chirp at us, of sunlight dazzling at us on the 
waves — for we know these things are caused by evil 
spirits trying to worry us. That's why I'm hung all 
over with these queer sticks and feathers for charms 
(called fetishes), the witch doctor gave them to me. 
Let's pretend you're in Africa and saw our banana 
tree all dressed up, and then taught us better. You 
can read all about it in " 

Pages 105-112, "Primary Mission Stories." 
"African Adventurers." (25 cents. F.) 
Pages 93-114, "Junior Mission Stories." 

Boys' names: — Njaku (Elephant); Kulu (Eagle); e (Leop- 
ard); Nwaeke (Lazy Legs). 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 77 
ALASKA. 




Figure 6. 
Boy, Girl, Man, Woman 



78 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Directions: By slashing the edges of white card- 
board little suits may be made very furry-looking! For 
variety's sake we use brown "fur" for some suits. But- 
ton faces may be painted brown to give a more Indian 
appearance. 

Letters : 

1. Girl— 

"Poor chilly Cotton-and-Silk-Molly, 

B'r'r'r'r! How shivery you will be up here in 
Alaska near the North Pole! Indeed, you will simply 
freeze unless you make yourself a fur suit like mine, 
although it's perfectly hateful to make one the way 
we all have to up here. Father goes hunting and 
brings back a nice skin. I scrape it with a stone to 
clean it, then I chew every inch of it to take the 
grease out, next I stretch it out to dry, then scrape 
it some more to make it soft, after which I sew it 
with great tough needles. That's about all I can do 
really well, although we are dreadfully astonished 
because a white Stranger-in-a-Bag has just come on 
a dog sled to teach us to do something called reading 
and writing. Grannie says it must be magic, and says 
we mustn't learn, but grannie's always scared of 
things — evil spirits, you know. We're so bored in the 
long winters without any sun that maybe reading and 
writing will amuse us. The stranger says the bag she 
lives in is called a skirt. It flaps around her knees 
all the time, like a tent. Won't you come up here, too? 
My name is Koolee." 

(Other girl's names: Agoonach, Mane.) 

2. Boy — 

"Hello, Sunshine Molly, 

Aren't you afraid you'll melt away with sun shin- 
ing on you all day long? I'm an Eskimo, which means 
raw fish eater, and I live up in Alaska where it's 
winter half the year round, with no sun at all, very 
dark, and snow everywhere. Father and I go fishing 
through ice holes. Grannie tells us fairy stories in 
the igloo, and teaches us how to get the best of the 
evil spirits that are so crazy to hurt us all. The new 
White Stranger says this is all nonsense. She has 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 79 

a black thing called a Book out of which she reads 
us strange words about somebody nice named Jesus. 
She says He is the Lamb of God. But we don't know 
what in the world a lamb is, so she said: 'Then let's 
call Him the little seal of God, for I know you love 
the baby seals with their soft fur and their dear 
mournful eyes, don't you? You bet we do, and I 
will want to hear a lot more about Him. So we both 
guess if this Jesus is sweet and tender like that we 
hope you'll come up here and help her build a school. 
You can read about us on " 

Pages 204-223, "Primary Mission Stories." 
Boys' names: — Kyo, Ikwa, Nipsu. 



80 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

AMERICAN INDIANS 




Figure 8 
Girl 



Figure 9 
Boy 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 81 

Directions: The boy's suit should be tan-colored, 
with slashed edges to sleeves, trousers and coat. The 
feathers in his warbonnet red, blue, green, yellow. The 
girl's feather yellow, blanket red. Papoose wrappings 
in gay colors. Faces brown. 

Letters: 

1. Boy— 

"Pale Face Squaw of the Baptist Tribe, 

One Little Injun, Big Horn, he send you plenty 
love, and ask you make footprints soon to his tepee, 
for have big pow-wow and sun-dance, and for smoke 
peace-pipe. Big Chief Strong Arm, he be there, also 
plenty braves, plenty squaws and plenty papoose. If 
Pale Face Squaw follow trail blazed on ground by 
One Little Injun she find tepee shortly!" 

(A chalk line, or a little trail of white paper arrows 
laid on the carpet, leads from this first doll up the front 
stairs to the distant tepee ! Vastly intriguing, of course, 
if en route the little squaw is found waiting, and the 
papoose hung up in a cardboard tree ! Enact a sun- 
dance, pages 338-363, "Junior Mission Stories.") 

2. Girl— 

"Tum-Tum-Tumety-Tum-Tum 

Pale Face Squaw is plent-ty wel-come! 

The drums make plenty noise for welcome White 
Sister to wicked sun dance. Smiling Sunset, she wel- 
come White Sister, too. Smiling Sunset, she un- 
happy little squaw. Hungry all up and down inside 
her for to walk the Jesus Road, and for go to big 
Jesus Pow Wow." 

Enact pages 279-308, "Primary Mission Stories." 

"Hiawatha" (Longfellow) will suggest many other 
playtimes for these dolls. 

See "Rockabye Baby" in chapter X. for Papoose sug- 
gestions. 



82 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

BURMA. 




Figure 10 
Girl 



Figure 11 
Boy 



Directions: Boys and girls dress alike, except that 
girl wears her colored scarf around her neck, with ends 
hanging unevenly, while boy wears his as a turban. 
Jackets white, hobble-skirts draped on tightly with ful- 
ness in front, bright-colored. Skin brown. 

Letters : 

1. Girl— 

"Lonesome Shwe Zo to Lonesome Molly: 

Over here in Burma 'tis the night before Christmas, 
whatever Christmas may be, and I'm wandering lone- 
somely around wondering who wants to love a dirty 
little tot like me. You can read what I did in this 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 88 

story, so let's pretend having a Christmas party for 
all the other children in this village. You can make a 
cute pine tree from green cardboard and trim it up 
with bright red and blue paper ornaments, and teach 
us all to sing a carol." 

"Her First Christmas Tree." (5 cents. F.) 
Story of "Ma-Me-Yah" in Missionary Bed-Time Stories." 
(10 cents. F.) 
Pages 10-13, "Chinese Tails and Other Tales." (10 cents. F.) 

2. Boy— 

"You Disgraceful Cannibal Molly, 

Ning Krang shudders when he thinks of you, for 
never was there anything so dangerous as to eat one's 
relatives! Yet at breakfast I plainly saw you eating 
pig; and at luncheon, lamb; and at dinner, beef! How 
do you know but that they're your dead grandfather 
and aunts and uncles whom you are gobbling up? 
You shock me. And you even swat flies and kill mos- 
quitoes. Dreadful ! Horrible ! ! Cannibal ! ! ! 

For you must know that in Burma everyone 
believes that when a person dies he is born again as 
some animal, if Buddha was not pleased with the way 
he lived on earth before; so you never can tell which 
animal or insect may be your very own dear relative. 
My father carves idols out of teak-wood all day long, 
you can read about us on pages 9-12, 'Through the Eye 
of a Needle' (10 cents. F.), after which I am sure you 
will find it fun to build a bullock cart and jounce 
up to visit my village among the hills." 



84 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 
CHINA. 




Figure 12 
Girl. 



Figure 13 
Boy. 



Directions: Yellowish faces (the bone buttons will 
do with a touch of pink on the cheeks), bright suits 
and flowers. Mother doll should have hair parted in the 
middle and sleeked down smoothly over ears, knot be- 
hind. Father should have mustache drooping down each 
side of mouth — narrow and black. For the grown-up 
dolls use darker purples, blues, reds and greens. Red 
buttons on men's caps. Trousers and jackets may be of 
contrasting shades, or one a deeper shade of same color. 

Letters given in chapter III. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 85 

INDIA. 





Figure 14 
Girl. 



Figure 15 
Boy. 



Directions: Faces, legs and arms brown. Women's 
saris in all bright colors, under jacket of another bright 
color. Widows wear white, no jacket, hair shaved off, 
no jewels. Men's turbans in all bright colors or white. 
Jacket and draped trousers can be white, or colored. 



86 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Letters: 

1. Girl— 

"Salaam, Molly Sahib, 

Thy devoted little slave, Manorama (Heart's Joy) 
begs thee to accept her love. Thou wilt be wonder- 
ing about my dress — it is called a sari, and because 
we never use buttons in India I have to keep looping 
it around me every few minutes to keep it draped 
in place. Thou canst act out my wedding if thou 
wilt read about me on pp. 308-319, 'Junior Mission 
Stories'." 

2. Widow — 

"Salaam, Heaven-born Sahib, 

Alas ! alas ! thy unfortunate little slave sees that 
thou dost not recognize her as Manorama! Yet I am 
the same little lass, only now a widow in a white 
sari, without any jewels or hair, hated by everyone. 
Thou mayst act out my sad pilgrimage if thou wilt 
make a wreath of yellow flowers and read pages 319- 
337, 'Junior Mission Stories'." 

(Suggestion — for a "sacred temple cow" cut out a 
good sized advertisement of a Horlick's Malted Milk 
cow ! By mounting it on cardboard four legs may be 
turned backward, and four forward to allow it to stand 
alone. Ink over the printed matter on each cow !) 

8. Boy— 

"Salaam, Missy Sahib. 

Being a cousin of the unfortunate Manorama I dare 
greet thee, and ask that thou will act out my story as 
found on pp. 113-146 'Primary Mission Stories'. Thou 
wilt of course tremble with admiration for my wonder- 
ful turban. Once I heard one of your missionary sahibs 
say that if all the gay tulips in America suddenly grew 
legs and strutted around, they couldn't make nearly as 
splurgy a display as our Hindu turbans of many 
colors." 

(Suggestion: An elephant idol may be made by draw- 
ing a picture of Ganesa in chalk on some uneven good- 
sized stone.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 87 

IMMIGRANTS. 




Figure 16 
Girl. 



Figure 17 
Boy. 



Directions: Different color schemes will differen- 
tiate the girl immigrants, and shawls need not always be 
over the head, of course. Blue overalls for boys. 
Letters : 

1. Girl from Italy — 
Signorita Molly, 

I no like-a de America as I have hope-a, for I 
make-a de blue forgessamenot-a all de long-a day, so 
I cannot-a go school-a. You come-a by de tenement-a 
house-a for visit-a me, an' read-a pp. 27-36 in 'Jack- 
of -All-Trades.' " 



88 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(Other girls in the tenement house should be Marietta, 
helps family crack nuts ; Theresa, neck-tie maker ; 
Luccia, lace-maker, etc.) 

2. Girl from Poland, Russia, Bohemia — 

"Sooner I comes on Amerika, I has an awful glad, 
for I knows as how I can to go on schools mit all de 
udder kids, und learn me how to do readings and writ- 
ings. Und afternoons I has lovings mit a Lady-Round- 
de-Corner, what lives on a house called 'Christian Cen- 
ter.' Me und lots of kids goes on that house und she 
learns us how to do cookings und sewings, und tells 
us stories of Christ. You should to pay visits on 
me, und we play Christian Center mit each udder, 
yes?" 

(Other girls: Olga, works in box factory; Minna, 
silk mill ; Sophie, clothing factory ; Rebecca, "finishes" 
clothes at home.) 

3. Boy — {Jan Jackenowski, Pole, vegetable picker 

and canner ; Ivan Harrier, Russian Jew, bast- 
ing threads; Johann Strauss, Bohemian, picks 
cotton; Jaos Czeko, Hungary, coal mine. As 
in "Jack of all Trades.") 

"Sooner I comes on America, I must to work und 
earn my livings. Mit udder boys I goes on de" (fac- 
tory, mine, field — as above). 

4. Boy — (Italians from tenement house: Tony, 

newsboy ; Giovanni, forgetmenots ; Beppo, sews 
buttons on cards; Angelo, makes roses, etc.) 

"Say, I'm de guy what pick-a de cranberry for 
you ! De mosquito, he come-a an' nip-a me over de 
leg-a, de arm-a; de Padrone, he come-a an' slap-a me 
on de head: 'Slowpoke!' he yell-a, so I pick-a de cran- 
berry quick. We all pick-a de cranberry — me mater, 
me fater, me sisters, an' de little bit bambino, too. 
We must-a to live in de shanty, no good-a; no good-a 
things to eat, for de Padrone cheat-a. You come-a an' 
start-a de mission for Italian boy — yes?" 

(See directions for playtimes in chapter V. with tene- 
ment house.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 89 
JAPAN. 




Figure 18 Figure 19 

Directions: Girl's kimonos are in all gay colors, 
with contrasting sashes, and for variety fans, flowers 
and pins in hair; boys wear more subdued colors. 
Letters: 
1. Girl— 

"Ohayo, O Molly San, 

Which means 'Honorably Early (good-morning!) 
Honorable Miss Molly!' I'm sure you can see that 
I'm a Cradle-Tbat-Walks-On-Two-Feet, because of 
little brother whom I tote around this way all day. 
I modestly suggest that you let me show you how to 
fix flowers in an empty spool vase for our honorable 
recess; and then let's have a Japanese girls' birthday 



90 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

party; and go to Sunday school, and bury our idol 
and climb Fujiyama with father — all of which you 
will know how to do if you will honorably condescend 
to rest your beautiful eyes on " 

Pages 172-204, "Junior Mission Stories." 
Pages 39-49, "Primary Mission Stories." 

Girls' names: — Tahi San (Little Miss Waterfall); 
Kiku San (Little Miss Chrysanthemum) ; Haru 
San (Little Miss Springtime). 

2. Boy — 

"Honorable Molly-of-the-Tiny-Pockets ! 

Augustly imagine the fun of having two pockets 
two feet long!! I can carry lots of things *up my 
sleeve': tops, marbles, fan, paper handkerchief, school 
books, and a little oval stove for cold days at school. 
All the boys in Japan are going to have a birthday 
today, so suppose you hoist a fish in front of our 
house, and come to my feast of flags." 

(See pages 50-55, "Primary Mission Stories.") 

Boys' names: — Taro (Leader); Shoichi Hatanaka 
(Bell of the Field). 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 91 

KOREA. 




Figure 20 
Girl. 



Figure 21 

Mother. 



Directions: The father's horsehair hat is black, his 
suit is white, straw sandals yellow; boy's suit is bright 
colors, braid of hair down his back; girl's short little 
jacket bright-colored, skirt of contrasting shade; 
mother's outfit same as daughter's, except that well-to- 
do women wear out-doors a green coat with sleeves, as 
a cloak, never putting arms in sleeves, however! 



92 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 22 
Father. 



Letters : 



Figure 23 
Boy. 



1 . Girl — 

"Honorably Dear, 

Do the mountains sit as close together in your hon- 
orable country as they do here in Korea? It's horrid 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 93 

to have so many everywhere, sometimes I wish they 
would sit down for a while, it would make walking 
easier! Yet in the spring they are covered with vio- 
lets, and that's nice of course. 

Most things are horrid in my life — even my name is 
miserably ugly — Kesiki, which means 'Thing/ or 'What- 
You-May-Cali-Her!' That's because father was so 
dreadfully disappointed to have me a girl instead of 
a boy. Yet I don't see how he would get along with- 
out me, for he always has to wear glistening white 
clothes, so I'm really his little washerwoman, washing 
and washing and washing to keep him looking spick 
and span ! Of course I nearly burst with pride to see 
him go sailing down the street in his long spotless coat, 
but you have no idea how hard mother and I work to 
keep him looking that way. Every day we lug bundles 
of clothes down to the river bank, and kneel to wash 
them — in winter breaking the ice to get at the water. 
Then to iron them we have wooden paddles like base- 
ball bats, and after spreading the clothes on a smooth 
stone we rat-tap-tap, rat-tap-tap, slapping them for 
hours until we have paddy-whacked them smooth and 
shining ! 

My short little jacket is called a chokeri. Mother 
and I made it. She loves me even if I am a girl, and 
calls me her 'Kwehi' (Treasure) ! Come on over and 
let's play washerwoman together !" 

2. Mother — 

"Happy Daughter of a Happy Mother, 

Permit me to rudely introduce myself as the wife of 
Chum Yung Kam (Little Old Man!). I have no proper 
name — when he wants me he simply calls: 'Yabu', 
which means 'Look Here !' And you must admit that 
isn't much of a name. I am dreadfully anxious about 
the evil spirits who bring so much sickness to our 
home, even though the old 'mutang' (witch) tells me 
the proper things to do to keep us well — like throwing 
rice into the well, or offering sacrifices, or putting up 
devil posts to frighten the spirits away. Your family 
don't get sick often. Come and tell me how your 
mother manages to make the evil spirits overlook 
you !" 



94 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

3. Father — 

"Wise Thing! 

You surpass belief — reading and writing as well as 
I can! And not being afraid of evil spirits, either. 
From the crown of my black horse-hair hat to the soles 
of my straw sandals I wish I could have your calm, 
happy religion. There are people called Christians in 
our village who also have this happiness, and we soon 
will see them going to a little chapel you will build. 
The men sit on one side, the women on the other. 
My Yabu (Look Here!) would like to go, too. And 
so would my sons Kim, Nam and Pak. Come and 
visit our 'chip' (house) and tell me what to do." 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHERS KNEE 95 

MEXICO. 





Figure 24 
Girl. 



Figure 25 
Boy. 



Directions: Girl's rebosa blue, dress any color; 
mother's dress blue, mantilla blue, or if better class, 
black. Poor peasant boys and men straw sombreros, red 
sarapes; richer men and boy black bolero jackets, either 
straw or black felt hats. Priest, brown cossack, hood 
drawn in back. Gold cross. Black prayer book. 



96 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 26 
Father 



Figure 27 
Priest 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 97 

Letters : 

1 . Girl — 

"Gracious Senorita Molly, 

Buenas diet* (good morning!). I that speak unto 
you am Pepita, a little Mexican maiden. This little 
blue shawl over my head is a 'rebosa', and I wear my 
dress way to the ground like a grown-up senora! I 
live in a blue adobe house. Next door lives Mercedes 
in a pink adobe house, and next to her is Juanita in 
a pale yellow house. None of us can read, and we 
think it would be most gracious if Senorita Hathaway 
could travel down and play school with us, for very 
few people in the village can read. In a quiet corner 
of the market is always the 'Evangelista', our public 
letter writer, who writes down what we tell him to 
say — whether it's a love letter, or a business document 
or a note like this. There is the public newspaper 
reader, too, who goes his rounds reading the daily 
paper to a crowd of peasants who can't read them- 
selves. They like best to hear about fights — you ought 
to hear them shout 'Buen hombre' (fine fellow) when 
they are pleased. We can play evangelista and paper 
reader, too, if you'll cut up a big newspaper into a 
little one our size!" 

2. Peasant Boy — 
"Senorita, Excellenza ! 

I that speak to you am Pedro, really a little Hat- 
Store-on-Legs, for my mother weaves these big straw 
sombreros, and I carry them all to market and sell as 
many as I can. The brims are so very wide that I 
can carry home fish, vegetables and fruit for supper ! 
So I become a Delivery-Basket-on-Legs. The red 
blanket over my shoulder is a sarape (sah-rah-pay), at 
night I sleep under it. Father looks just like me. 
only bigger. We are only peons, or peasants, but we 
own a donkey and when I talk to him you ought to 
hear him bray back at me, as if he were terribly 
amused. Sometimes we all perch up on top of him 
and go for a fiesta (festival) at the church — that 
means the little madre, Sarita, Concepcion, Francisco, 
Teresa and me!" 

3. Richer Boy — 
"Senorita of Smiles, 

I am at your feet, Senorita, which is the polite Span- 



98 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

ish way of telling you I'm yours to obey. I that speak 
unto you am Manuel, brother of the saucy Pepita. 
Being lazy, I do nothing all day but smoke cigarettes 
and have a cock fight between my pet rooster and 
Juan's pet rooster. If you will make some paper 
roosters I'll show you how to do it. Then you show 
me what American boys play. I hear Americans don't 
approve of cock fights because they are cruel. Just 
start something better in town, and we'll play it!" 

4. Priest. (This same letter could be used for a 
Catholic friar in the Philippines). 
"Kind Christian Senorita, 

I whisper unto your sympathetic ear a story I dare 
not tell out loud, for I am Padre Filippe, a Catholic 
priest, and of course I have always been forbidden 
to let my people read the Bible. We like best to keep 
them ignorant and superstitious, so they will buy 
candles to burn before the saints, and pay us big 
fees for forgiving their sins and marrying them or 
burying them. We like to see people afraid of Christ, 
and come into the cathedral to kiss the stone hem of a 
stone Virgin Mary's dress, as they pray her to per- 
suade Christ to be kind to them. But I have been 
reading the Bible you so kindly sent me, and I see 
how lazy I have been, and how stupid I have let my 
people become, so I will indeed be glad if you can 
come and open a chapel so we can all learn about real 
Christianity." 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 99 

MOSLEMS. 





Figure 28 Figure 29 

Directions: Girl's dress skirt made double, outer 
skirt brought up over head as shawl, black veil under 
eyes. For Button Face dolls attach a real veil across 
face. Boy — red fez, green sash, yellow striped sleeves, 
red slippers, blue coat. Man, green turban, red belt 
and slippers. 
Letters : 

1. Girl— 

"You Bold, Courageous, Shameful Molly, 

I take the ground from beneath your feet and kiss 



100 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 30 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 101 

it, I salute you with the protection of Allah, yet how 
dare you run around outdoors with your face un- 
veiled, cherished Jar of Milk and Honey? And your 
mother actually daring to appear with uncovered face, 
also ! May Allah protect her ! Doesn't your father 
beat you both, and shove you back into the harem, 
shouting. 'Stay where you belong, you immodest pigs !' 
That is what my father would certainly do, for we 
girls and women all have to live cooped up in the 
women's part of the house, behind closed shutters. 
It is called the harem, and we are rarely ever allowed 
to go out, even when we wear veils over our faces. 
We get sick as you can soon read, and I'm sure you 
will want to send us a doctor and build us a hospital." 

Pages 237-246, 254-267, "Junior Mission Stories." 
Pages 309-314, 322-334, "Primary Mission Stories." 
OirW names'. — Fatima, Abdullah, Sherin (Sweet). 

2. Boy— 

"Achmed salutes you! 

May my eyes fall out of my head, and my tongue 
cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I ever saw anyone 
so surprising as you — a girl actually doing what she 
pleases, and going where she pleases, and saying what 
she pleases ! Wonders never cease ! Going to school, 
too! Over here only boys go to school, to the mosque, 
to learn the Koran. This is a wondrous wise book, as 
you will see for yourself soon. Once I went on a pil- 
grimage to Mecca with father, on a camel. If you will 
make a camel we can make the trip together over the 
desert, and I will show you how Mohammedans pray, 
and about my school, too." 

Pages 247-253, "Junior Mission Stories." 
Pages 316-321, "Primary Mission Stories." 
Boys' names: — Ibrahim, Yosef. 



102 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

PHILIPPINES. 




Figure 31 
Mother. 



Figure 32 
Boy. 



Directions: The lines in the mother's stiff wide 
sleeves should be in colors — soft pink, or tan, or blue, a 
bright colored skirt. Boy in blue jacket and straw-col- 
ored cone-shaped hat. A little girl's dress would be a 
simpler Mother Hubbard effect, hair hanging straight 
and black. See roof pattern for African hut for idea 
of pattern for cone hat (chapter V.). 

Letter : 

"Buenas dias, (good morning) Cousin Molly! 

What? You didn't know I was your cousin? Oh, but 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 103 

I am, because your Uncle Sam is my uncle, too. I'm 
one of Miss Suman's good-little-bad-little Brownies, so 
let's play you're Miss Suman and we'll do all sorts of 
Brownie stunts just as this leaflet says. Then here's 
a lovely big book so you can read all about the land 
where I live, and some shorter stories about boys." 

"Miss Suman's Brownies." (2 cents. F.) 

"Jack and Janet in the Philippines." (25 cents. F.) 

Pages 8-10, "Chinese Tails and Other Tales." (10 cents. F.) 

Pages 7-9, "Through Eye of Needle." (10 cents. F.) 

Girls' names: — Rosalinda, Gregoria, Rita. 

Boys' names: — Rafaelo, Teofilo, Gonzola, Joe, Christobel. 



104 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

SIAM. 




Figure 33 
Baby. 



Figure 34 
Boy. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 105 





Figure 35 
Girl. 



Figure 36 
Buddhist Priest 



106 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

H 4* - : I |1| ^| 

Directions: The baby has £00 mwcft on.' Even the 
boy would ordinarily wear only a "pa-nung", which is 
the name for striped piece of cloth around waist of baby. 
He is now dressed in plain yellow gown worn by wat 
boys, and for his hair-cutting ceremonies. Girl wears 
scant skirt of striped material edged usually with a 
brown hem, colored scarf around shoulders. Top-knots 
black; baby's has just started, brush-like little tuft as 
yet. Priest in yellow robes. 

Letters : 

1. Baby — 

"Coo coo, How are you? 

I'm a really-truly Water Baby named 'Dang', and 
I live in Siam right on top of the equator. Dang 
really means Red, in Siamese, because they keep rub- 
bing us babies all over with a reddish yellow paste to 
keep away the pesky mosquitoes ! So we all get called 
Dang for a while, until they think up better names 
for us. 

I'm a Water Baby because my house is a little raft 
with a house on it. Father's a sort of nurse girl to 
me, he hasn't anything else to do, except sleep, so he 
ties me to the deck with a rope, then if I tumble over- 
board he can easily yank me back again without mov- 
ing. I get spilled into the water so much lately I've 
just had to flap around and learn to swim. You see 
he snores away and never notices I'm missing. Dread- 
fully careless of him! 

He never works, Father doesn't ! Mother works, and 
sister works, in fact everybody works but a Siamese 
father, he sits around all day — minding babies, and 
sleeping, or chewing betel nuts to keep his teeth black. 
We say in Siam that 'any dog can have white teeth', 
so we'll be fashionable and have black ones. I only 
have four teeth yet, but I've chewed away at a betel 
nut until I've got them nice and black! Yi Pan (Yi 
means grandmother, in Siamese) ties charms all over 
me. The queerest are the heads of field bugs around 
my wrists to keep the evil spirits away from me. That's 
all I wear — just charms — it's so hot on top of the 
Equator, you see." 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 107 

2. Girl — 

"Dear Unknown Rat, 

Whatever makes you squeal and jump to have me 
call you 'Bat'? For surely you must know that in 
Siam that is the most polite way to address a young 
girl whose name one does not know ! 

My own name is 'Pome Yik', which I simply hate, 
because it's a nickname meaning Curly-Head. For 
my precious little top-knot of hair ought to be straight 
and wiry, but it has some nasty little kinks in it. Of 
course you know how dearly we Siamese people prize 
these dear little top-knots ! Every baby has its head 
shaved all but one little tuft right in the center of the 
head; each day that precious tuft is oiled and a jew- 
eled pin stuck through it. I always put a wreath of 
fresh flowers around mine, but Nan Inta, my brother, 
never bothers about flowers. This week is the auspi- 
cious time for him to have a sort of coming-out party, 
called a 'Kone-chook', when his top-knot must be cut 
off. He made me promise to let him tell you about 
it himself. 

I like you so well I want to give you a Siamese kiss: 
we do it by pressing our two noses together hard, and 
taking nice long sniffs, while I say: 'Very fragrant! 
Very fragrant !' Would you like to play store with 
me today, although it won't be play for me, because 
while father loafs on the raft with Dang, mother and 
I earn the living. I sit in a market stall and sell 
fruit out of big baskets lying around me in a circle. 
Suppose you make some tiny paper baskets, and cut 
out a lot of bananas from yellow cardboard, and 
oranges, and some red custard apples, and some brown- 
green pineapples, and we can play market easily." 

Girls' names: — Kui Keo; Dara Ratsami; Tipakesawn. 

3. Priest — 

"Greetings, American Rat ! 

Being a Buddhist priest, I hold my fan in front of 
my face to keep from beholding the things of this 
world, and especially you, a woman ! For all Buddhists 
know that women are altogether wicked and useless 
persons, for whom Buddha has no use. 

Like all priests, I live in a i wat', which is a Buddhist 
temple, and the boys in town are all sent here for a 



108 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

while so we can teach them to read and write. Every 
morning we go out with our little 'wat' boys on the 
street, stopping at house after house with our beg- 
ging bowls into which each family puts some rice. 
We tell them Buddha will surely be pleased if they 
keep his priests well-fed, and that's all we ever eat — 
what is put in our bowls each morning. It's a stupid, 
lazy life, waddling around in a yellow robe, carrying a 
fan and having the hot sun beating down on our bald 
heads. Somebody gave me a book called the Bible, 
which amazes me — the man named Jesus is so differ- 
ent from myself! Have you read it yourself? And 
could you explain to me about Him?" 

1 4. Boy — 

"All Hail, City Rat, 

My name is Nan Inta, Pome Yik's brother. I'm through 
being a wat boy, hurrah ! No more trotting through 
sunny streets behind the waddling Buddhist priest, 
carrying his bowl and begging his meals ! I'm twelve 
years old, a man now, and my 'Kone-chook', or Hair- 
Cutting Ceremony, occurs today. All the neighbors 
and relatives are here. A little hill is made on the 
front deck, on which I sit. The Buddhist priests in 
their very best yellow robes are chanting some mo- 
notonous prayers in a chorus. A white cotton thread 
passes from their hands around my hands, and back to 
them again — so that I can surely benefit by the chanted 
prayers; one of your missionaries said it was as if it 
was to be an electric current! 

Next, the most important guest must clip off my 
long-cherished top-knot, and I want to give you that 
honor, noble Rat ! After which dress me in white, 
pour water over me, then lead me down from my little 
hill, take off the white, and light candles which are 
to be carried five times around me, and blown out so 
that the smoke will float toward me, as the priests say 
the smoke will fill me with spirit and courage! Every- 
body then gives me a present of money; and I'm a 
twelve-year-old man, ready for a wife, if father can 
find me one. Meanwhile I'll just sit on the raft, and 
mind baby Dang, unless you'll stay and start some- 
thing in our village." 

Boy's names: — Noi Siri; Learn; Chua; Mee. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 109 

IDOLS may be made by pasting tiny pictures of 
idols, cut from magazines or travel catalogues, onto up- 
right stones. Draw an idol in chalk on a stone ; or draw 
one on gray cardboard and cut out. Joss sticks burning 
in spools before them are a realistic touch. 

ANIMALS will add much to the playtimes in each 
country. 1. Cows to wander around temple grounds 
and be wreathed in marigold garlands can be made easily 
from Horlick's Malted Milk Advertisement, where three 
cows appear. Paint over the printing. For all these 
animals try pasting cardboard to the body part only, 
cutting out in same shape as animal, then spreading 
four legs backward and four legs forward, so animal 
will stand. 2. Camels in quite huge sizes advertise both 
cigarettes and "Dromedary Dates." A visit to a drug 
store or a grocery may result in securing an even larger 
sized cardboard poster advertisement. 3. Dogs for 
Alaskan dogsleds may be strung together with brown 
string; on a white absorbent cotton snow field they look 
very life-like and fierce ! 4. Donkeys for Arabia and 
the Philippines, and 5. Elephants for India, Siam and 
Mexico are harder to find, also 6. Water Buffaloes for 
Burma. 7. Seals, Walruses and Polar Bears should 
make Alaska more beautiful, and 8. Fish may daily be 
angled for with a bent pin hook, a string line and a 
tooth pick rod, provided the fish is shaped as follows, 
and has a nice round eye for the hook to catch in : 




Figure 37 

9. Parrots and 10. Monkeys and 11. Snakes are amus- 
ing to have around in the proper places ! 



110 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



In order that real rides may be taken on the backs of 
the animals (by any kind of dolls) try pasting a very 
narrow box between the two cardboard sides of the ani- 
mal's body — a box just wide enough and long enough for 
the doll to fit inside. Then paste the two parts of the 
head together, also tail and back parts together. See 
diagram : 




Figure 38 

Directions: Paste parts labelled A, B, C,, and D to 
corresponding parts on other side of elephant. A little 
red cheesecloth rectangle may hang over the back of the 
elephant when not in use, thus covering the hole. 



CHAPTER V. 

"LET'S PLAY HOUSE'' 

When you begin your career as an Oriental Architect 
an amusing domestic lapse is going to take place in your 
home — for you will surely become a Mrs. Missionary 
Ragman the minute you discover that every large squar- 
ish box is the home of somebody or other; that smaller 
boxes are potential sedan chairs, pianos, tables and beds, 
not to mention stoves and frying pans and grandfather- 
clocks; that every bottle is a possible doll; that empty 
spools are simply ideal for flower pots, cement posts 
and fences, for cart-wheels, chimneys, lamps, beds, 
tables; and that all scraps of colored paper and card- 
board serving as advertisement covers are exactly what 
you need for a door-god, or a Button Face family, or for 
one of the many letters you will be copying from this 
book. 

You will immediately begin the fascinating game of 
hoarding junk, and unless you differ from the writer an 
eleventh commandment will have to be added to your 
decalogue: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's adver- 
tisements, nor his hat boxes, nor his shoe boxes, nor his 
old bottles, nor his empty spools, nor his wire hair-pins, 
nor anything that is thy neighbor's !" I have known 
what it is to suffer agonies of mingled pride and desire 
in passing neighbors' waste barrels moved out on the 
sidewalk for the ash man. Oh, to be a rag-picker's 
beautiful daughter, a la movies ! So many desirable 
"nothings" on their way to being made pulp instead of 
missionary playthings. 

For the lovely part about oriental homes is that they 
rent for a mere song — so you need have but triflinp 
expense in preparing all the houses in this chapter; as 
for the song: 



112 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

"One mother said it couldn't be done, 

But another, chuckling, replied 
That maybe it couldn't but she would be one 

Who wouldn't say so till she tried! 
So she waded right in with a trace of a grin 

On her face — if she worried she hid it; 
She started to sing as she tackled the thing 

That couldn't be done— AND SHE DID IT!" 

For of course being an architect and a carpenter is a 
bit out of your line, but as an attractive young mother 
said to the writer last summer: "Well, you know I 
thought I never could smock Elsie's dresses, but I did; 
and I was afraid I could never knit heels and toes on 
socks, but I've finished my nineteenth pair; so now I'm 
not going to be stumped by fastening weird pieces of 
cardboard along a corset box and calling it a Japanese 
pagoda ! If somebody else can do it, I can, too !" One 
pictures Elsie with quite a real estate problem in her 
nursery after that ! 

As in the case of dolls, where colored cardboard saves 
an immense amount of painting, so in making houses and 
vehicles lay in a supply of brown, black, red, green and 
yellow cardboard for the roofs; for these, together with 
a motley collection of boxes and brass paper fasteners, 
will save you from almost all painting and pasting. 
This latter especially is a mussy job, in the end much 
less secure than if paper fasteners had clamped the two 
parts together. One teacher who has taken these pat- 
terns for use in an institute, shellacs all her houses when 
completed, as she writes they are far stiffer, and stand 
handling better. 

The size of the houses and vehicles will depend en- 
tirely on the size of the dolls, of course: rag dolls and 
bisque or bottle dolls will find roomy accommodations in 
hat-box houses; smaller dolls will fit into shoe boxes 
best. No directions are given for houses built of kind- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 118 

ling wood, twigs, leftover pieces of matting, raffia, etc. 
These may be a bit beyond an amateur, although any- 
body with a little knowledge of carpentry can spend 
happy hours nailing away for dear life, concocting very 
permanent homes for sister's doll families. And when 
one sees eager women taking free lessons in department 
stores learning to weave graceful baskets and lamps 
from Dennison rope paper and wire, it seems as if oc- 
casionally there would be a mother to adopt these meth- 
ods for oriental homes ! Meanwhile, being plain every- 
day inartistic souls, we will content ourselves with ordi- 
nary boxes, as the best foundation for all the houses we 
want. 

As these homes are to accompany the sets of dolls 
mentioned in chapter IV., they are listed by countries 
in the same order as the dolls. Suggestive letters and 
story sources are also noted. 



114 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

AFRICA. 




Figure 39 



Directions: Small round hat boxes or muff boxes 
will be splendid for these African huts, especially if 
box is gray or tan or brown. When men's hats are sent 
home there is usually an oval cardboard affair inside 
to protect the crown. This, too, makes an excellent hut ! 
In building a whole kraal (village) the roofs should 
vary in color a little — tawny brown, brown, black. A 
roof may be made from a large circle of cardboard (out- 
line a basin or plate on the cardboard). Cut radius 
from A to C, move AC over to BC and fasten in place 
with two paper fasteners. Jag the edges to represent 
thatching of straw or palm leaves. The roof may be 
fastened to the hut by means of three cardboard strips 
and six paper fasteners, as follows: Fasten three strips 
to hut with three of the fasteners; incline the strips in- 
ward to fit slope of roof; lay on the roof and fasten it 
to strips with the three other fasteners. Of course in 
case neither round boxes nor oval supports are obtain- 
able, a strip of gray cardboard may be cut into a rec- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 115 

tangle with the three necessary roof girders jutting out 
from one side, and a doorway cut (figure 41). Curve 
the strip into a circle and fasten with two brass fas- 
teners, then put roof on as suggested above. Two rows 
of these houses form a kraal, with a palaver house be- 
tween the rows at one end. This is a larger hut than 
the others, where the men spend their days and even- 
ings talking things over — here the little girl comes to 
lay at his feet her father's meals, served upon a palm 
leaf! Here they talk over what price she ought to 
bring; and here missionary doll may come to tell about 
Jesus. 

Note: — "How to Make an African Village" (15 cents 
F.) is very suggestive, but as model to be cut out is 
made of paper, it will not stand such hard usage as these 
box houses, and will require more pasting and manipu- 
lation to make. 

Three suggestions for making roof look more thatched 
are offered not only for this country, but for all others 
where such roofs are in style — you might vary your 
methods! (1) Cut out a great number of jagged palm 
leaves from brown tissue paper — at least 24 may be cut 
out at one time (as in figure 43) — perhaps 100 will be 
needed. Spread a film of paste around the lower edge 
of the roof, and hastily lay on a layer of the brown 
leaves; then another film of paste a little higher up and 
another row of leaves, etc., to peak. It is not hard, and 
looks most effective. Crepe paper is equally good, but 
harder to paste on. (2) Raffia may be sewed on in 
strips, the tuft at the peak of the roof where strips all 
converge being left uneven. This is quite a job, but at- 
tractive when completed. (3) A roof may be cut from a 
piece of Loofah sponge, bought at any drug store for 
15 cents. Very realistic! Use same pattern as for 
cardboard roof; may also be used for tent-like roofs of 
following houses. 



116 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




n 



i 



Figure 41 




<&tzX& 



Fisure 42 



Figure 43 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 117 

Figure 42. Palm trees may be made in two ways: 
(1) Cut green tissue or crepe paper into long palm 
leaves, tie them to one end of a twig and stand other 
end of twig in an empty spool, painted brown. (2) Cut 
palm tree from green cardboard, painting trunk brown; 
bend trunk along AB and CD at right angles to CA and 
DB. Paint trunk brown; slightly split apart base of 
trunk into roots XXX, which, at right angles to each 
other and to trunk, may be fastened by pins or thumb 
tacks to the floor to hold them upright. 

African Letter: 

"Stoop way over, Little White Sister, and enter me, 
for I am the House-that-the-Ants-Kept-Eating and the 
little House-that-Was-Built-in-Half-an-Hour. You can 
read about me in Pages 21-24, 'Chinese Tails and Other 
Tales', Pages 92-98, 'Primary Mission Stories', and 
'Home Life in Africa'." 



118 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

ALASKA. 

A good game for snow playtimes, of course. 




Figure 44 




L_ 



Figure 47 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 119 

Directions: Out-of-doors an igloo like figure 44 may 
be built of snow; indoors it may be one of two things: 
(1) an inverted white enamel bowl, with a piece of 
black paper pasted on for a doorway, or (2) a round 
white cambric crown, such as may be bought at millinery 
counters in Five and Ten Cent Stores, — being very stiff 
it is quite ideal for this purpose, and a doorway can 
easily be cut in it. Indoor snow may be a white sheet 
spread on the floor, or a piece of white canton flannel, 
fleecy side up ! Dog sleds may be cut from a narrow 
box-lid; figure 47 shows the pattern spread open; but 
as the runners are to be the side flaps of the lid they 
should not be spread open. Brown string will form the 
harness. See suggestions about dogs, end of preceding 
chapter. 

Pine trees may be cut from green cardboard, two 
thicknesses — paste upper parts together, spreading 
trunk and bottom branches apart. Paint trunk brown. 
Figure 48. 

Cut totem pole, figure 49, from two thicknesses of 
white cardboard. Mount the pieces on opposite sides of 
a long narrow box, after fastening lid to the box. By 
making base of the pole wide enough the box then ought 
to stand alone. Use a jewelry box such as knitting 
needles, hat pins or spoons come in. Paint totem pole 
in all gaudy colors possible. See pages 215-129, "Pri- 
mary Mission Stories," for story about this pole, and 
the log cabin house, further south. This house, figure 
45, may be made from a shoe box by slitting down the 
four corners an inch or so: AB, CD, EF, GH (figure 
46). Then bend inward the two resulting rectangles 
CDEF and ABGH), also the four triangles (ABX, 
XCD, EFY, YGH). The roof may be a tent-like 
fold of cardboard attached to these bent-in parts of box 
by paper fasteners. A pretended "stone" chimney of 
gray cardboard may be pasted along one side of box. 
Cut door so it will open, and a window. The box 



120 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

should be striped into logs. This 
same house will do for negro 
cabin, mountaineer's home, house 
in mining or lumber camps, etc. 

Letter : 

"Molly-of-the-Many-Rooms-with- 

a-Furnace ! 

If you don't melt, I should 
think you would certainly get 
lost, poor dear! So many rooms 
to rattle around in. I'm a cozy 
little round snow igloo with only 
one room — a combination Bed- 
Dining-Sitting Room, as well as 
a Kitchen. Even my tables and 
chairs are made out of snow, as 
you can read on pages 204-208, 
'Primary Mission Stories.' " 




V 



/l 



t J 



Figure 48 



Figure 49 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 121 

AMERICAN INDIANS. 




Figure 50 




Figure 52 



vT 




Figure 53 



122 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Directions: Birch bark will make wonderful tepees 
and canoes, of course, but light brown cardboard will do 
almost as well. Practice folding a newspaper square 
into a cone of the proper size before attempting to do 
the same with the cardboard. Fold back the pie-shaped 
flaps at the entrance. These are very attractive if 
brightly colored in diagonals, outlined in heavy black. 
However, if a red band runs around tepee, and a blue 
swastika and a green figure decorate the sides, it will 
give sufficient local color. Some other "simplified" 
drawings are given for decorating other tepees. Broom 
straws coming out of the top of the cone resemble the 
tepee poles. Tepee mission banks free. (H.) 

A make-believe fire is convincingly made of twigs, 
and orange and red tissue paper "flames". Other bent 
twigs will form the tripod from which hangs a kettle — 
i. e., acorn cup, with courtplaster handle, or blackened 
pill box with hairpin handle. 

If you wish to have stories about the Pueblo Indians 
of New Mexico, their dwelling may be made, as in 
figure 52, by pasting several small jewelry boxes of 
various sizes together. Cut out a few windows and 
doorways, and if all the boxes could be covered with 
gray moulding clay (unless boxes are all gray in color) 
it will give a very convincing tone to this pueblo! 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 123 

BURMA. 








Figure 55 

Directions: A yellowish hat-box will make a good 
Burman-house-on-stilts. Proceed exactly as for log 
cabin, figures 45 and 46, only this time let the greater 
length of the box be cut into legs. Look back at direc- 
tions for cutting trunk of palm tree (figure 42), with 
right-angled flaps, and observe same directions in cut- 
ting out these four house posts, as it strengthens the 
supports wonderfully. The step ladder is also cut from 
the side of the box, the cross pieces may be pasted on 
separately, as this is easier than cutting out all the in- 
between spaces. The roof is the same tent-like flap 
as for figure 45, but it is thatched, either by slashing 
edges with scissors or by adding tissue paper leaves 
or raffia. (See African directions.) In order to make 
a floor, the lid of the hat-box may be bent up to fit 
inside the house, the bent up portions being fastened 
securely to the sides with paper fasteners. Mark the 
sides of the box as if there were narrow bamboo walls. 



124 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

This same house may be used for the Philippine Island 
dolls. 




Figure 56 

Figure 56 is a more or less accurate bullock cart 
which will answer for use in India also. Use the lid of 
a box for the floor, and curve over the top a piece of tan 
cardboard, fastening it to upright flaps of the lid with 
at least two brass fasteners on each side. Two large 
circles with either green or red rims, and black spokes 
may form the wheels and should be attached to the up- 
right flaps of the lid with fasteners also. If a hole is 
made in each hub beforehand the wheels will actually 
revolve. Very tiny bullock carts may be made to fit 
into Chatter Boxes by using a visiting-card box lid, 
with a basting thread spool tied underneath. Horlick's 
Milk cows will again volunteer for service as oxen! 

Figure 57 is the marvelous golden pagoda of the 
Buddhists, equally good for Siam, as is also the Siamese 
priest (figure 36) for Burma. To procure a balanced 
pattern, fold a piece of newspaper, and beginning at 
the fold draw one-half of the pagoda. Cut this out, and 
when opened you will have an equal number of ripples 
and curves. Cut the pagoda, using this pattern, from 
two thicknesses of yellow cardboard, fastening a box 
half the height of the pagoda between the two sides. 
That means that you can paste the two peaks of the 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 125 




Figure 57 

pagoda together, and at least several inches down from 
the top. Simulate a shrine on one side, where Buddha 
(or a magazine picture of him) sits complacently. The 
urns on either side of the shrine are to receive offerings. 
Several yellow-robed priests should be ambling around 
in the shade of some palm trees to give real local color 
when "somebody" arrives in a bullock cart to bow before 
Buddha and to kneel abjectly before the priest, too. 



Letter : 



"Low Down Molly! 

I should think snakes would walk right in your 
front door, and that in the rainy season you'd be 
6imply swamped with water, living in a house so very- 
near the ground. I'm a Little House-on-Stilts, as you 
plainly can see. I feel much more comfortable sitting 
up here among the tree-tops, because of the heavy 
rains, and snakes, too! When they clean house they 
just poke things through my floor — easy and quick!" 



126 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 
CHINA. 




Figure 58 

Directions: Figure 58, the Chinese house, has a gray 
box for its foundation, and a roof cut from a double 
thickness of green cardboard. To secure an even pat- 
tern, fold a piece of newspaper, and starting from the 
fold draw one-half the roof. Cut this out, unfold, and 
lay it on green cardboard and outline. The ridge pole 
and corners may be painted black, as in cut, the facing 
"tiles" may be red, and the two plaques on each 
side of doorway, yellow. Fasten the two sides of 
the roof to the front and back sides of a box with brass 
fasteners, then paste the ridge pole peaks of the roof 
securely together, from the top down an inch or so, if 
necessary cutting away sharp corners of the box to 
allow for proper slope of roof. Cut a door so it 
will open and shut. A door-knob may be black shoe- 
button, punched through the cardboard with a tiny 
safety pin fastened through the shank of the button on 
the other side of the door. This inside of the door 
should have its gaudy door god, cut from bright yellow 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 127 

paper or cardboard, painted in many colors (see figure 
60), and pasted in place. Inside should be a table, with 
red scarf on it and an ancestral tablet or so, also a 
spool with joss-sticks in it. These tablets may be pieces 
of red cardboard stuck through the lid of small oblong 
pill boxes, also painted red. Chinese "writing" pre- 
sumably describes the name and virtues of the ancestor 
whose spirit resides inside (figure 62). A prim row of 
chairs along each wall of the room will be better under- 
stood if story on pages 45-53, "Junior Mission Stories," 
is read first. This story also explains reason for roof 
tipping up, for door gods (also pages 76-77 same book), 
etc. 





Figure 62 



Figure 59 



128 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



Figure 59. The roof of this temple should be made 
to "balance" by experimenting with a folded newspaper, 
drawing one-half of it starting from the fold — as for 
roof of house. Use two thicknesses of red cardboard, 
and paint the black portions of the cut black on your 
roof also. Clamp the roofs with fasteners to a square 
black box — if it is not black already, paint it so — leaving 
curved lintel over doorway to be painted a vivid green. 
If box is black already this green lintel may be cut from 
green cardboard and clamped in place with brass fasten- 
ers. The highest roofs, back and front, should be pasted 
together. Draw an idol on the rear wall of the box; a 
yellow strip of "carpet" leads to him, he himself may be 
purple and red and blue as to colors ! Joss sticks in 
spools stand on each side of him, and a tiny bell hangs 
from the center of the green lintel. A few Chinese 
mock characters (as on tablet) are highly effective if 
painted in gold around the back walls of temple. 




Figure 61 

Figure 61, the sedan chair, may be made from a black 
box, with two skewers or straight twigs for poles. The 
seat may be made from the lid, bent several times and 
wedged in place. The dragon is, of course, unneces- 
sary, but if cut from green or red or gold paper (two 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 12© 

thicknesses) he will add greatly to the effect of the 
chair! With gold paint put a scrolly design around 
the cut-out windows. If the chair-poles can be wound 
with colored red paper, they, too, will be more dashing. 
If you want to celebrate a Chinese wedding an entire 
red chair is a necessity ; no one but a bride may ever ride 
in it. She should have a red veil (cheese-cloth or tissue 
paper) over her entire head and shoulders. 



130 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

INDIA. 




Figure 66 

Directions: A native hut may be made exactly like 
the Burman house, but without the posts. And the walls 
instead of being bamboo slats are mud, so use a grayish- 
tan box, leaving it plain except for a doorway. Palm 
trees in profusion are needed. See figures 55 and 42 for 
the above. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 131 

Figure 66 represents a water jar; may be cut from 
gray cardboard either with or without handles. If one 
of the village fathers is a potter an interesting play- 
time would be to mould little gray pots from plasticene 
moulding clay, such as is used in public schools. Acorn 
cups can be used, also. 

Figure 63 shows a mission bungalow, which may be 
hospital or school as preferred. A white shoe box is 
best. Cut the pillars along one side of box ; to form a 
verandah back wall, fit the lid of the box across veran- 
dah, clamping the two end flaps of the lid to the side 
walls of the bungalow. (The lengthwise flaps must be 
removed, and the lid somewhat cut down, lengthwise.) 
As in figure 64, turn down parts of the box so the roof 
may fit in place. In this case the verandah pillars will 
also need to be bent over at the top, and fastened to the 
roof with brass fasteners. This roof may be made of 
red or terra-cotta cardboard, folded in a tent-like 
fashion. 

Leaflets: "Home Life in India." (3 cents.) 

What Is a Zenana, and Who Lives in It?" (1 cent. F.) 

"Caste and Its Results." (2 cents. F.) 

Letter : 

"Salaam, Missy Brick-House Sahib ! 

'Out of the mud and scum of things 
Something always, always sings !' 
So although I'm only a little Mud-and-Thatch hut, 
something can sing inside of me, Molly Sahib, if you'll 
only come over and teach my family: 
'Ye-su nan-nu pre-mis-tu 
Tan-na Yod-da pil-cho-nu, 
Ean-ni Sat-ya Veda-mu 
Na-ku by-lu-par-tsu-nu. 
Ye-su pre-min-tsu-nu 
Ye-su pre-min-tsu-nu 
Ye-su pre-min-tsu-nu 
Ma-Veda chap-pe-nu — ' 
which is Jesus Loves Me in Telugu language." 



182 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 
IMMIGRANTS. 




Figure 67 
Street view. 




Figure 68 
Back view. 

Directions: Figures 67 and 68 are views of the 
same tenement-house hat boxes: the street view for 
looks, the back view so the dolls can be doing things 
both in their dingy rooms and in the pleasant Christian 
Center across the street. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 188 

1. Street View. Very firmly made gray and brown 
hat boxes are the best. In cutting the windows of the 
tenement do not cut the cardboard out, but cut it into 
shutters, as in figure 67. These may be painted green (or 
covered with green paper) or left natural color. The 
grocery store awning is also part of the box, and should 
be painted red and white striped. The dolls who live in 
this room should keep store, of course. To do this, 
pictures of packages of cream of wheat, flour sacks, 
canned vegetables, sugar cartons, etc., etc., may be cut 
from advertisements and neatly ranged on box counters. 
In another room Lives a family of dolls making forget- 
me-nots (the latter much in evidence, strung in a line 
across room so paste will dry!) In other rooms the 
families are making neckties, lace, etc. Very simple 
furniture is suggested later on. 

To make floors and walls, the lid of the hat-box and 
the tops and bottoms of dry-goods boxes could be used: 
wedge them neatly in, with an ample margin of card- 
board to be bent downward and clamped to the side 
walls with fasteners. But an even better scheme is to 
fit six shoe boxes inside the tenement hat box. Remove 
the bottoms of all six boxes carefully, thus leaving the 
four sides to be ceiling, floor and side walls. Clamp 
them in place with brass fasteners. This plan is not 
only simple to follow, but it makes the floors of double 
thickness, firm enough to hold plenty of furniture and 
dolls. For the Christian Center two boxes may form 
the upstairs and downstairs, in the same fashion; al- 
though as a matter of fact one box (for the downstairs 
room) is sufficient, since its ceiling will form a floor for 
the room above. Two boxes merely make the center a 
more enduring institution ! Neat window curtains for 
its windows may be found in any candy box — those 
nicely scalloped paper flaps ! Cut them the proper 
length, and paste at the tops of the windows. 

The clothes-line across the alley is a bit of local 



134 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



color not to be omitted ! Paste a pair of bright blue 
paper overalls on the line, also some white paper towels, 
or little dresses cut from a fashion magazine. If there 
is a Mission Center in your town be sure to label the 
names of the actual streets on the corners of the box 
houses. Chimneys are spools, of course, painted red or 
black, and pasted onto the roofs. It is more effective 
to have the roofs black (from soot, of course!); they 
may either be painted black or have black paper pasted 
in place before chimneys are attached. 

SPOOL FURNITURE: 




Figure 71 
Dinner Table. 



Figure 72 
Chair. 



Directions: You will see from these designs that 
almost any kind of furniture can be made from spools — 
especially that for Chatter Boxes, as it is so quickly 
made — e. g., figure 70 is a spool with a circle of brown 
cardboard glued on the top — presto, a table ! Four 
spools with a brown rectangle on top, another table (fig- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 135 



ure 71). One spool with a piece of bent cardboard 
makes a chair (figure 72). For a lamp, roll a piece of 
paper into a scroll and poke it through the spool hole. 
Take a circular piece of flowered wall paper and pleat 
it around the edges for the shade, glueing it to the paper 
lamp chimney. 

BOX FURNITURE is a little more individual, how- 
ever, and appeals to older children far more quickly be- 
cause it is more lasting. 




f 



Figure 73 
Table. 

Directions: Figure 73, the table, should be cut on 
dotted line, removing a rectangle of cardboard from each 
side. The bottom of the box forms the surface of the 
table top. Books for the table may be made of folded 
bits of cardboard. Try a spool lamp also. Or if it is a 
dining table which the teacher shows the immigrant chil- 





Figure 74. 
Chair. 



136 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



dren how to set, use tiny toy dishes, or ones made of 
paper. An old handkerchief forms a tablecloth. Table 
itself should be painted brown or black. 

Figure 74, chair, is also to be cut out on dotted lines. 
Notice that rectangle ABCD is to be bent over at AB 
to form the seat (ABEF). Be sure to leave the tiny 
squares X X and Y Y attached to ABCD, as it is 
through these squares that brass fasteners are to be 
put, clamping the seat firmly to the legs, — see black 
dots on finished chair. Flowered wall paper pasted on 
seat makes a pretty cretonne effect. Chair may be left 
white or painted any color to match other furniture. 
Figure 75, the winged chair, is to be cut on dotted 
lines. A B C D is to be bent over at CD to form the 
seat. As for straight chairs, leave extra square flaps 
on this seat to fasten it to sides with clamps. Cover 
with wall paper for upholstery. 




Figure 75 
Winged Chair. 

Figure 76, the bed, should be cut on dotted lines as 
indicated. When this is done a mattress is needed, for 
which use the box lid, after removing the end flaps, for 
the lengthwise flaps will just fit over the side rails of 
the bed, to which they may be clamped. You can see 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 137 



Figure 76 
Bed. 



-LP 





from this drawing how easily a four poster bed can be 
made, also. Rows of these little beds — white — will be 
just what hospitals around the world need ! A red cross 
on each head-board makes them more medical in ap- 
pearance. A blue Button-Face nurse, a sick Button- 
Face patient lying under a handkerchief sheet, with a 
Button-Face Bible woman to come story-telling — what 
more of a little stage drama do you need? 

Figure 77, a piano, is very simply made of a writing 
paper box (lid and all, clamped together) with part of 
the lid of another writing paper box clamped to it, back 
to back. Be sure to paste on two paper pedals ! Paint 



138 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 77. 
Piano. 

the whole affair black, then for a keyboard paste on a 
narrow white strip with black keys in alternate pairs of 
twos and threes. A sheet of "pretend" music can be 
pasted in place. A piano is a positive necessity for 
Sunday schools around the world, as well as for the 
Christian Center. (For story on effect of music, see 
pages 157-164, "Junior Mission Stories.") 

Figure 78 shows -a very simple mantel-piece and fire- 
place. A gray writing paper box will be good for this; 
fasten lid and box together, then cut away the arc AB. 
Then with a brush and black ink outline irregular stones 
on the front and sides. A little brownish-gray paint 
here and there will make the stones look stonier ! If 
preferred, use a red box for a red brick fireplace, rul- 
ing in the bricks neatly. Twigs, and orange and red 
tissue paper will form a beautiful fire for families who 
can afford it — possibly Miss Money Bags will have to 
contribute toward the buying of fuel for the poor family ! 
A watch, cut from an advertisement, and mounted on a 
small square pill box can tick very happily on the man- 
tel shelf. Lovely candle sticks can be formed in the 
twinkling of an eye by using wooden button moulds 
with a scoll of colored paper shoved into each hole. 
Twist the top of the scroll into a wick; then set candle- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 139 



stick on each end of the shelf. The entire mantel- 
piece may be glued to the wall of some room, either in 
the tenement house or in an enlarged log cabin (negro, 
mountaineer, miner's). It is fun to "play Christmas" 
with such a fireplace — hanging little black paper stock- 
ings up, but no Santa Claus comes, because the father 
and mother dolls are so poor. Great disappointment ! 
Presto ! Mrs. Missionary Doll arrives on scene, tiny 
Christmas tree, etc., etc. Or a Button-Face Santa, from 
somebody's Sunday school up town, arrives with gifts 
from these unseen scholars. 

Figure 79 is an amusing grandfather clock: a knit- 
ting needle box, or hat pin box, with a watch face on it. 
Cut a hole to see the pendulum through, and on the end 
of a string fasten a little bell, so that it can "chime" ! 




Figure 78 
Mantelpiece. 




140 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 





jJUK 



Figure 79 
Grandfather Clock. 



Figure 80 
Stove. 



The string hangs from the top of the box, the bell ap- 
pearing just opposite the opening. 

Figure 80. A square box is best for a stove, prefer- 
ably black, although any box can be painted after stove 
is made. Cut on dotted lines, removing four small 
rectangles from lower sides of box. The bottom of the 
box forms top of stove, of course, but the lid of the box 
should be laid over this, because four round stove lids 
(size of a quarter) are to be cut out of this box lid, 
and would fall to the ground unless they had something 
underneath them. After cutting these little lids, fit box 
lid onto the stove, and where the four circles appear 
paint a few orange and red flames for fire ! Punch a 
tiny hole in each lid, so they can be raised out with a 
lifter made from an invisible wire hairpin, twisted into 
proper shape. Cut an oven door in the front of stove; 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 141 

another small box might be fastened behind this door so 
that dishes may actually be "heated" in the oven ! A 
dramatic stove pipe rises from a fifth hole in the top of 
the stove and rears itself up through the wall of the 
kitchen in the Christian Center — being merely a scroll 
of black paper it is easily adjusted. Cooking utensils 
are easily formed from the two parts of any small round 
pill box. The lid, being flatter and narrower, suggests 
a frying pan, so jab an invisible wire hairpin through 
two pin holes, and press the ends of the hairpin together 
firmly to form a handle. The lower part of the box is 
an ideal kettle, with another hairpin arched over the 
pot. Blacken both utensils. Immigrant cooking classes 
are sure to be fun, as after the cooking is done the 
"dear class" has to be taught to set the table before they 
sit down to eat ! The pupils then go home and tell 
their delighted parents about the Center, — Jesus stories, 
Jesus songs, cooking classes, sewing classes ; the Forget- 
me-not-makers clean up their house a little; perhaps 
Mrs. Missionary sends home a Jesus picture to hang on 
the wall. There is no end to the playtimes possible 
with this combination of toys: all very practical and 
suggestive. See "Jack-of-All-Trades" (25 cents, H.) 
for stories to be dramatized. 

Note : — All of this furniture may appear in Mrs. Mis- 
sionary's Oriental home, and will serve as a contrast to 
native habits. It will be quite educational for the dolls 
to come a-questioning: "Why this?" "Why that?" Be- 
cause it has actually been this daily contact with mis- 
sionary furniture, etc., which has led the Orient to be so 
eager for all kind of American things for themselves, 
everything from Singer sewing machines to alarm clocks ! 



142 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 
JAPAN. 




Figure 81 
Roof. 

Directions: Japanese house — figures 81 to 84. For 
small dolls, take a tan shoe box, stand it on its bottom 
and cut away two rectangles, as indicated in stage 1, 
figure 82. Insert the bent lid of the box to form a back 
verandah wall, and draw lattice work over porch, using 
bright green or red paint, as in figure 83. Cut roof from 
dark brown cardboard, figure 8 1 , and clamp the X X X X 
flaps underneath the roof. Jag the edges, and streak it 
to represent soft thatching of straw. Then with three 
strips on the front and three on the back, clamped to 
house, fasten roof on. Hang a yellow lantern and a 
pink lantern of different shapes by strings from the 
painted lattice work, and have gray cardboard "stepping 
stones" lead from house to garden. This side of house 
is really the back, but as it is here that the Japanese 
families live it receives the most attention. On the front 
side of the house cut a doorway, and put some lattice 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 143 



N 






Figure 82. 
Stage 1. 



Figure 83 
Stage 2. 





Cb 

Figure 84 
Japanese House. 

work beside it. An "honorable recess" may be made 
inside, if desirable — merely a long scroll to hang on the 
wall, and a red spool with cherry blossoms on it! 
Cherry trees in full bloom are always obtainable by 



144 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 85 



Figure 86 

pasting crumpled bits of pink tissue paper or silk here 
and there on a graceful twig. 

Patterns for lanterns may be best obtained by folding 
a rectangle of waste paper into quarters, as in figure 85. 
Starting from the fold draw one-quarter of the lantern. 
Cut this out, spread open and lay on colored cardboard 
to trace off the outline. Very charming little flowered 
lanterns may be cut from sprigged wall-paper, use a 
double thickness of paper, and paste the plain sides to- 
gether, so that whichever way the wind blows a pretty 
side is always in view. Basting thread cords may be 
used to hang them up with. The framework may be 
either black or bright red. 

Figure 88 represents one of those quaint old stone lan- 
terns one always associates with Japanese gardens. Cut 
it from four thicknesses of gray cardboard, and paste 
one thickness to each of the four sides of a square pill 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 145 

bottle. A touch of red, or of orange, in the upper square 
of the lantern is attractive. 

Figure 89 shows how easily a bridge may be put over 
any nice mud puddle in the garden. If really playing 
out-of-doors keep such a puddle always on hand ! If 
indoors, a mirror may be used, or a glass from a picture 
frame with something blue under it. Four spools with 
a nice long strip of brown cardboard from a suit-box 
will form a very artistic span. Hand rails may be 
made by leaving on some extra side projections when 
cutting out the bridge, turn these side pieces up at right 
angles and Little Miss Plum Blossom will be in far less 
danger of drowning in Mirror Lake ! See pages 38-38, 
"Primary Mission Stories," for a tale about the little 
house-that-is-made-of-paper. 




Figure 87 



Figure 88 



146 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 90 
Pagoda. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 147 



Figure 91 
Pagoda Eaves. 

Making Pagoda, figure 90. A long corset box is to be 
the foundation of this edifice. The pattern should be 
cut from a folded newspaper, drawing one-half the pa- 
goda starting from the fold. Cut this out, open, and 
lay it on two thicknesses of black cardboard. Then 
from green cardboard cut six pagoda eaves, two of each 
size. Bend the part of figure 91 marked XX under, 
and through the XX marks clamp these eaves over the 
black cardboard eaves with fasteners. These eaves will 
then shelve out in the most realistic fashion. Next 
clamp the front and back sides of the pagoda to the 
corset box — indeed, this might well be done at the time 
when the extra eaves are being fastened on, as it is 
underneath these eaves that the fasteners had better 
be placed. The box should extend just about as high as 
the lower edge of the highest roof. Clamp the lid 
securely to the box, and then paste the little ball tops 
of the pagoda together. These balls may be painted 
gold ; a few gold markings here and there over the black 
walls of the pagoda dress it up astonishingly. Cut a 
doorway in it, and from red cardboard make a torii-like 
gateway to fit over the entrance. Paint an idol on the 
back wall of the temple, or paste a pictured idol there. 
The white sides of the pagoda and the white end up 
under the pointed top will displease your eye unless you 
make them black with India ink and a big brush. 

Jinrikisha, figures 92 to 94. Start by carefully cut- 
ting away the sides of a box, as indicated on figure 92. 
Then fold a rectangle of black paper into folds to form 
the hood of figure 93. Fasten these in place with 



148 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 




Figure 92 
Embryo Jinrikisha. 




Figure 93 
Emerging ! 




Figure 94 
Complete. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHERS KNEE 149 

clamps, and then clamp on two cardboard circles for 
wheels, with red (or green) rims and black spokes. The 
jinrikisha itself should be black also. See pages 45-49, 
63-68, "Primary Mission Stories," for ideas about 
temple worship and jinrikisha travel. 



150 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

KOREA. 




Figure 97 



(lull u\ 

Figure 96 
Spirit Post. 



Directions: Prepare the box for the Korean house 
in same fashion as figure 6. The box should be brown 
or black. A tent-like roof with fancy edges may be cut 
from dull terra-cotta cardboard, marked in tiles. Clamp 
it in place as directed in figure 46. 

Without a devil post, or spirit post, to frighten away 
the cholera and smallpox demons poor Mrs. "Look- 
Here" and Miss "What-You-May-Call Her" will feel 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 151 

far from safe. Any sort of hideous face done in colors 
with enough white to make the eyes and teeth rather 
horrible will do to head a piece of tan cardboard, fas- 
tened to a tall thin box. 

Every country visited will need a church, of course. 
See figure 97. One can easily be made by fastening a 
white cardboard facade and steeple to one end of a 
white box, putting a dark brown or green tent-like roof 
over the rest of the box. Colored Sunday school cards 
make marvelous stained glass windows if pasted behind 
a Gothic framework ! A generous front door has a shoe- 
button knob and simulated hinges. A little bell in 
the steeple is a great attraction. As a rule the men 
and boys in oriental churches sit on one side of the 
center aisle, women and girls on the other side. Koreans 
are usually wonderful Christians, like those early Chris- 
tians who accepted the faith in the simplest, most joy- 
ous fashion, living out every precept, laying hold of 
every promise. Every Christian carries his Bible with 
him; tailors had to invent "Bible pockets" for this very 
purpose ! Every year huge Bible conferences are held 
for several weeks at a time, and people cheerfully walk 
hundreds of miles and live crowded into each others' 
homes to attend them. This is a game suggestion: — set 
Molly to being a Conference leader, and see how she 
holds her audiences ! Let her select the first Christian 
principles these beginners are so eager to know. 

Letter to Accompany Korean House: 
"Dear Home-made Molly, 

For houses have a lot to do with making people 
what they are, my dear ! I ought to know, for if I 
wanted to say Home, Sweet Home in Korean I would 
have to translate it House, Sugary House, and you 
must admit that doesn't begin to sound as comfy and 
home-like as your way does. That's because nobody 
but these happy new Christians in Korea understand 
what a real home is, we just haven't invented a word 
for it yet. We keep using the little word 'chip', which 
means anything anyone lives in — chickens live in a 



152 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

chicken chip, a button lives in a button chip (but- 
ton hole!). I guess what my poor family needs to 
do is to learn to love each other as the Christians 
do, and then they can make even a chip into a dear 
cozy home! This is the way to sing 'Jerusalem My 
Happy Home' in Korean: 'Ye-ru-sal-lem na pok toin 
chip.' So even heaven is only a 'chip' to Koreans — a 
house to live in!" 

(Leaflet: "Village Life in Korea." 3 cents: Send to Lit- 
erature Department, Room 818, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York.) 

Two good Korean stories for story nights are: "Daybreak 
in Korea" (Annie Baird. Fleming H. Revell, publishers) 
and "The Vanguard" (James S. Gale. Order through Revell.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 153 
MEXICO. 




Figure 98 
Adobe House. 

Directions: A soft-colored blue box will make a 
good adobe house. Cut a good sized square in the center 
of the flat roof as an opening above the "patio" inside. 
This patio, or open court, has a fountain and blooming 
flowers in it. A fountain is somewhat difficult to make, 
but a tiny round mirror with artificial flowers in spools 
will make a pretty effect. Cut a window with black 
bars below, and an awning-like shutter above, painted 
green. 

Letter : 

"The Little Blue House sends greetings, saying: 
'Su Case, Senorita Molly', which is the Spanish way 
of saying 'This house is yours, Miss Molly', which just 
shows you how hospitable and polite we Mexicans are. 
Even a Little Blue House can be cheerful if yoa 
come a-visiting!" 



154 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

>SLEM LANDS. 




Figure 99 
House. 




Figure 101 
Arab Tent. 




Figure 100 
Mosque. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 155 

Directions: A characteristically gloomy house may 
be made from an inverted hat box, with the bottom 
serving as the flat roof. The Moorish windows have 
bars across them, and the door has a grating in it, so the 
inmates may give every visitor a good inspection before 
letting him in ! Part of the house is the harem, ex- 
clusively for women. Figure 99. 

Figure 100, the mosque, is really two facades cut 
from white cardboard, and striped zebra-fashion, all 
but the dome. Fasten a box between the front and back 
facade, which means that four minarets stick sky-ward, 
— the two domes should be pasted together, however, 
about half an inch down. A muezzin gives the call to 
prayer from one of the minarets five times a day, see 
pages 247-253, "Junior Mission Stories," for facts about 
these prayers, and for story of boy who went to school 
in the mosque and what he learned. Prayer rugs may 
easily be made from a piece of red cardboard, with the 
ends slashed and oriental designs scattered here and 
there over the surface. 

An Arab tent, figure 101, may be striped wall-paper, 
folded in half. A camel or two, a palm tree and a donkey 
would make a nice desert scene ! 



PHILIPPINES. 

The tree-house given under Burma, figure 55, will also 
do for a Filipino hut. In building a whole village 
(barrio) it will not be necessary to have them all up 
on posts, however, as there are plenty of ground huts, — 
mere hovels really. A school building should fly the 
American flag, and some soldiers in khaki and sailors 
in blue should walk the streets to show that the Fili- 
pinos are really our cousins, and helped fight our battle 
in the war. 



156 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



SIAM. 

The Siamese wat or temple may be like the Burman 
pagoda, figure 57, as they look much alike. 




Figure 102 
Siamese Floating House. 




Directions: To make this house take a light brown 
hat box and mark the side architecture on the box. R 
and R are supposedly movable bamboo or rattan shut- 
ters, they are really the raised-up flaps carefully cut 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 157 

from the sides. The roof is slightly different from any 
other roof described, in that it is part of the box itself: 
namely, the rectangles A B C D and E F G H sloped 
together to meet each other at X Y, where they may be 
overcast together with needle and thread, after the 
triangles A B J, J E H, F G K and K C D have 
been cut off. This roof is supposed to be thatched, so 
streak it effectively with a brush and brown paint. The 
framework, black in the cut, should be black in reality 
also. It will really be a highly picturesque little model, 
and may be pasted onto a raft made from the bottom of 
a brown suit box. Blue crepe paper will make a ripply 
river on which to float the houseboat. 

Letter : 

"Dear Dry-Land Rat! 

Don't fall overboard, please, until I get a rope and 
tie you to the deck with Baby Dang! Nobody has to 
pay any rent for me because I'm floating on the water, 
which is the reason there are so many floating houses 
in Siam, as rents are terribly high. Yi Pan ties little 
bits of charms in different places to keep the evil 
spirits from upsetting us, or swamping us — but then 
she's the most scared, timid grannie in the whole world, 
anyhow." 



158 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



A GOOD PLAY 

"We built a ship upon the stairs 
All made of the back-bedroom chairs, 
And filled it full of sofa pillows 
To go a-sailing on the billows. 

We took a saw and several nails, 
And water in the nursery pails, 
And Tom said, "Let us also take 
An apple and a slice of cake;" — 
Which was enough for Tom and me 
To go a-sailing on, till tea. 

We sailed along for days and days, 
And had the very best of plays; 
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee, 
So there was no one left but me." 

(Robert Louis Stevenson, in "A Child's Garden of Verses.") 

Charles Scribner's Sons. 



CHAPTER VI. 

"DRESSING UP!" 

"The Sheldrick household possessed a big chest full of pieces 
of colored stuff, cloaks, fragmentary wigs, tinsels, wooden 
swords and the like; this chest stood on the big landing outside 
the studio and it was called the dressing-up box. It was a 
liberal source of joy and a liberal education to the Sheldricks 
and their friends." — (Quoted from H. G. Wells.) 

Have you a "Dress-Up Box" in your home? 

The child who never plays at being somebody else has 
missed the "thrillingest" moments of life. The writer 
can recall the most wonderful episodes of her early 
teens, when after school a very gentle young friend of 
hers was daily metamorphosed into a gruff and burly 
Henry VIII., while she herself enacted many roles: all 
his poor eight wives at once, as well as "George", the 
king's valet. Nothing can make her forget the shiver 
of dismay when his majesty would thunder: "George, 
bring in Anne Bolyn !" "Aye, aye, sir," quavered poor 
George, making an obsequious exit. A trailing scarf, 
held on the head by a fillet, transformed "George" in- 
stantly into a trembling Anne Bolyn, and it is doubtful 
whether any Shakespearean actors have ever been done 
to more dramatic deaths than those two gentle little pre- 
tenders of long ago. To this very day there is some- 
thing horribly arresting about the spoken or written 
words "Henry VIII.", — my heart loses a beat: the old 
wretch, how many times he's killed me ! 

No more romantic or thrilling stories exist than those 
in missionary lore, and if you have started a Once a 
Week Story Night you will have provided hints a plenty. 
Pirates and cannibals and wild animals for boys, wed- 
dings and house-keeping adventures and sicknesses for 
girls — nothing is omitted ! It only remains for you to 
equip a Dressing-Up Box for the actors. Send for a 
free leaflet, "Oriental Costumes and How to Make 
Them." 



160 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

1. THE CHILD WHO PLAYS ALONE. 

To a child provided with imagination, Unseen Play- 
mates are almost as satisfactory as the Flesh-and-Blood 
kind, — 

"When children are playing alone on the green, 
In comes the playmate that never was seen. 
When children are happy and lonely and good, 
The Friend of the Children conies out of the wood. 

"Nobody heard him and nobody saw, 
His is a picture you never could draw, 
But he's sure to be present, abroad or at home, 
When Children are happy and playing alone." 

Read the other verses of "The Unseen Playmate" by 
Robert Louis Stevenson, and then at once be ready to 
give Rachel a chance to be some little unknown some- 
body, and play happily with other unknown somebodies. 

A very lively and thorough idea of how children in 
other lands live may be gained by presenting her witl 
an oriental costume and an oriental name, and letting 
her be that far-away person for an entire day. She will 
love it ! If you can conveniently arrange your luncheon 
menu to include oriental dishes such as curry and rice, 
and let them be eaten with fingers, as in India and 
Burma, or with chopsticks (knitting needles or skew- 
ers), as in China and Japan, you will help sustain the 
pretense. Also by your conversation during the meal 
aid in the right understanding of that other little girl's 
life. Suppose a father or a brother were home, imagine 
how Rachel would despise it to meekly stand around 
and serve them, waiting to eat what was left over after 
it was cold! 

This should never be done, however, if there are other 
children coming in from school who cannot share intelli- 
gently in the play, but will ridicule her. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 161 

On one of her Nothing-To-Do days, when weather or 
illness keeps her shut indoors, slip this letter in the 
morning mail, properly addressed: 

"Salaam, Missy Sahib Hathaway, 

Although the American garments that adorn you 
are very exquisite, you will kindly run on swift feet 
to your bedroom and find under the bed a box con- 
taining a Hindu sari, in which you will plese drape 
yourself according to directions. You will not neglect 
wearing the gorgeous jewels, of course! From the 
minute you first wear the sari until you take it off 
your new name becomes Manorama, which means 
'Heart's Joy', and your Hindu playmate's name is Sukh- 
darshan, which means 'Beautiful-to-see' !" 
Excitedly, 
Your Six Yards of Hindu Sari. 

This sari may be five or six yards of any brilliant ma- 
terial, perhaps cheese-cloth. There should be all the 
necklaces and bracelets possible. Rachel in her new 
character as Manorama might even be required to make 
some of her own necklaces by breaking, painting and 
stringing macaroni tubes. Gorgeous ear-rings may be 
made by looping brass curtain rings over her ears with 
string, and a bead dangling by a thread from a piece of 
courtplaster may be pasted on the under part of the 
nose in the most fetching fashion. Anklets of curtain 
rings will tinkle with true Hindu mysteriousness. With 
the costume should be the tiny picture of the Hindu 
girls and directions for draping sari cut from the free 
leaflet "Oriental Costumes"; a second note reads as fol 
lows: 

"Salaam, Most beautiful Manorama, 

You must be very anxious to know all about your- 
self, and your real home, and your dear friend Sukh- 
darshan. So please peep carefully into the bottom 
drawer of your bureau and remove a book called 
'Junior Mission Stories,' reading pages 308-337 about 
Manorama." 

"Of course her "itinerary" from now on will depend 
mostly on the books and leaflets you have procured for 



162 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

her. The following list of stories and stunts is much 
fuller than is needed for one day, but you are to choose 
from it the possible stories available, and as in the "Mys- 
terious Charm of Bundles" each new story may be found 
hidden in some out-of-the-way place, together with al- 
luring directions to the next stop. 

1. Pages 308-337, "Junior Mission Stories." (About 

the life of a girl named Manorama.) 

2. Pages 32-75, "Around the World With Jack and 

Janet." (Two excellent accounts of life in In- 
dia.) 

3. Pages 113-153, "Primary Mission Stories." (Story 

of a Hindu boy and his sister.) 

4. Leaflet, "Home Life in India." (3 cents.) 

5. Leaflet, "Children of India." (8 cents.) 

6. Leaflet, "Little India Girl." (2 cents.) 

7. Leaflet, "Bridal Pictures." (8 cents.) 

8. "Stunts" to be sandwiched in between stories will 

follow up the impressions gained: 

(1) Map, or some good sized picture, of India, 

cut up into a puzzle. 

(2) "Concealed Cities." A list of India's cities 

to be untwisted: 
HILDE (Delhi). 
TUCCATAL (Calcutta). 
DRASMA (Madras). 
MOBABY (Bombay). 
RUDAMA (Madura). 
LUCCITA (Calicut). 
LORNLEE (Nellore). 
GOOLEN (Ongole). 
It will probably take some study of the map to 
do unraveling, which is exactly what you want, 
of course. 

(3) Behind a sofa hide a piece of gray cardboard, 

so that houses and dolls may be cut out 
and painted. (See chapters IV. and V.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 168 

(4) "School," "House," "Hospital" and "Church" 

can then be played. 

(5) A Progressive Scrap-book is another idea for 

a day's record. Each new stopping place 
gives directions for a new page: — map to 
be traced; products of country to be 
drawn around; "Concealed cities," as 
above; leaflets and pictures pasted in; orig- 
inal drawings of huts, dolls, etc. By the 
end of the day it will be a compilation of 
"Things About Hindu Me!" 
Of course, if sufficient stories have already been told 
on story nights, then these suggestions will not be so 
necessary, the new costume alone will be enough to start 
Rachel playing; although hidden stories will always add 
a thrill or two. 

2. GROUPS OF CHILDREN. 

Tavo or more children, dressed up, instinctively know 
how and what to play, especially if plenty of stories 
have been told to suggest playtimes. Appropriate 
names for each character are indispensable, and it would 
seem as if any Dress-up Box could contain the follow- 
ing outfit: 

1. For "Manorama" — a Hindu sari of 5 straight 
yards of bright cheese-cloth, all available jewelry. 

2. For "Huantzi" (i. e., "Change-Into-a-Brother") 
and "Ling Te" (i. e., "Lead-Along-a-Brother") a Chi- 
nese suit, gay pajamas will do with a border of Greek 
key designs painted around ankles of trousers, and 
around wrists and neck of coat. Flowers for hair, 
Chinese fan. 

3. For "0 Kiku San" (Miss Chrysanthemum) and 
"0 Taki San" (Miss Waterfall) old Japanese kimonos 
with gay sashes, little home-made paper fans for hair, 
and possibly a paper parasol. 

4. For "Ma Bo" and "Ma Bin", of Burma, a striped 



164 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

piece of goods fitted hobble-fashion tightly around the 
legs, a plain white dressing jacket, scarf over shoulders 
flower in hair. 

5. For "Sherin" (i. e., "Sweet), the Moslem girl, a 
dismal outfit, a double black skirt — the upper one to be 
drawn over head and shoulders like a shawl, after a 
black veil has been tied acros sthe face (under the eyes) 
and fastened behind head. This veil hangs loose in 
front as far as waist-line. 

6. For "Minna Jackenowski," Polish immigrant, a 
checked gingham apron, a triangular shawl over shoul- 
ders and brilliant scarf tied over head and under chin. 

7. For "Nicholena Salamonte," Italian immigrant, 
same as above. 

8. For "Senorita Juanita Murillo," from Mexico, 
eai'-rings, black mantilla and a flirtatious fan. 

9. For "Painted Redbird," an Indian squaw, a gay 
blanket and a feather in her hair will be sufficient. A 
doll tied papoose-fashion on her back adds local color. 
(Also good for Japan and China!) 

10. For "Mrs. Missionary Greatheart" any grown- 
up dress and hat, with some school books and hymn 
books so she can open a school at once ! 

11. For "Miss Silver Money-Bags" the most ele- 
gant wardrobe of abandoned finery, including a home- 
made lorgnette and an old purse full of paper money 
(see Jemima of the same name toward end of chap- 
ter III.). This wealthy lady is an inveterate traveler 
with a mania for adopting child widows and orphans, 
and equipping schools and hospitals at the request of 
Mrs. Greatheart and Miss Nightingale. 

12. For "Miss Florence Nightingale" a nurse's cap 
and apron, with a box full of medicine bottles filled with 
candy pills, also a nurse's chart to keep track of pre- 
scriptions to patients. 

Stories of all these maidens may be culled from the 
books mentioned previously, so that the players will 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 165 

know how to be ignorant, and sick, and in trouble, — 
plainly ready for relief at the hands of Mrs. Greatheart 
and her assistants ! 

You may be interested to know that an actual Dress- 
ing-up Box, like the above, belongs in the writer's house, 
and when her Sunday school girls come a-visiting, each 
Eleven-Year-Old promptly says : "Well, let's draw 
names now, and dress up !" Nothing can solve a teach- 
er's troubles about what to do at parties as easily as a 
similar box of abandoned clothes. 



166 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHERS KNEE 




3. "DISCOVERING PRINCESSES" AT A DRESS- 
UP PARTY. 

Our last party was such a success you may care to 
hear the details. Formerly the girls had "drawn" 
names, dressed up in the corresponding costumes, and 
then "played house" or "played school" with their dolls, 
without much direction. This time it was Valentine's 
Day, such a special occasion that a new costume was 
added for "The Undiscovered Princess" ! This con- 
sisted of a gold crown, made from an old cardboard box 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 167 

cut in the proper points and covered with gold paper! 
Colored candies were pasted here and there on it for the 
crown jewels — very taking! A piece of old blue silk 
was cut into a circular cape (unsewed) with a white 
collar painted with plenty of luxurious black "ermine" 
tails at intervals. 

The basis for the entire party was a dear little story 
called "Discovering Princesses" (2 cents. F.), which 
shows how anybody or anything needing help is really 
a princess for us to rescue! This story was read to 
the guests, when properly garbed, then these four games 
were played: 

1. Drawing a Princess with Eyes Shut. 

2. Discovering Princesses At Home, in: 

INCHA (China). 
NAPJA (Japan). 
DIANA (India). 
ARMUB (Burma). 
FARACI (Africa). 
SLAAKA (Alaska). 
REMAICA (America). 
COXEMI (Mexico). 

3. Discovering Princesses At Work. 

This was a series of pantomimes, eancted by the 
teacher, showing the kind of things these nice everyday 
princesses keep doing for us. The little guests each had 
pencils and cards and wrote down their guesses: — wash- 
ing clothes; sweeping; scrubbing floors; ironing; plant- 
ing seeds; teaching school; sewing; motoring, etc. 

4. Crowning Princesses. 

We pinned a Chinese, an Immigrant and a Hindu 
paper doll in a row across a portiere, then each of us 
was blindfolded, given a gold crown, and sent on a 
haphazard journey to pin the crown on one of the 
three princesses. 

Between games Miss Nightingale doctored the dis- 



168 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

couraged "boobies", and the winners had to go through 
all kinds of stunts to find their prizes hidden high and 
low through the room. Each prize had a cute leaflet 
about some undiscovered princess — e. g., tiny Japanese 
doll and "Plum Blossom Stories" (5 cents. F.), Little 
Broom-pencil and "How Long Must I Wait?" (2 
cents. F.). 

At the refreshment table each guest had a favor 
made of a big cardboard heart with one of the cute red- 
roofed houses on it (1919 Junior Mission bank. F.) 
with a green cardboard tree growing beside the house ! 
Underneath was printed: 

"My heart is a little island, 
And the Princess who sails to me 
Sails in the ship of Friend-ship 
Over Discovery Sea! 
The little house she's to live in 
I'll fill for her cheerfully." 

Everyone also received a copy of "Discovering Pin- 
cesses"; so having learned how all afternoon it was 
indeed a cheerful giving which two months later netted 
$6 for the support of one of these little princesses in 
a Baptist school somewhere. 

4. IMPROMPTU THEATRICALS. 

Older members of the family can have just as much 
fun with a Dressing-Up Box as the children can. A 
sophisticated society girl loves to visit an artist and 
his sister who have frequent studio teas when each 
one swathes himself in some absurd draperies and 
has a regular lark! In at least two of Mr. Wells' 
novels quite staid and prosey families have a delightful 
way of indulging in dressings-up, as the quotation at 
the beginning of this chapter indicates. 

Nothing is more fun, or develops such latent talent. 
At a World Wide Guild House-party last summer some 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 169 

girls "presented" a little missionary play, "A Stitch in 
Time" (15 cents F), by merely reading the various parts 
in the most impromptu fashion. It was a never-to-be- 
gotten event, funny yet impressive, too. 

Family reunions at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New 
Year's have a heavy way of lapsing into a stodgy dull- 
ness, lamentable to everybody — why not counteract too 
good a dinner by dressing up and reading through a 
missionary play? Or by dramatizing some brisk mis- 
sionary story on the spur of the moment? Perhaps 
acting it in pantomime for the others to guess. Cha- 
rades are a still simpler solution, of course; you will 
find 14 suggestions in chapter XI. 

For Story Evenings, the added charm that comes from 
a costume is always to be remembered. A girl in Hindu 
costume, standing in the fire-light, to tell dramatically 
the story of Chundra Lela, as if it were her own life- 
story, will make a much more lasting impression than 
the same girl in a middy blouse, merely narrating the 
marvelous career of an unseen Hindu woman. 



170 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



MY CROWN. 

The only crown I ask, dear Lord, to wear 
Is this — that I may help a little child. 
I do not ask that I should ever stand 
Among the wise, the worthy, or the great; 
I only ask that softly, hand in hand, 
A child and I may enter at Thy gate. 

(Selected.) 



CHAPTER VII. 

"ADOPTING A TWIN" 

The Mysterious-Charm-of-Bundles has a very close 
rival in the Fatal-Fascination-of-a-Secret Society ! 
When she isn't invited to be in one that already exists, 
life becomes sheer emptiness to little Miss Ten-to-Four- 
teen. And after she gets initiated, how she does puff 
up with a secret importance that threatens to fairly 
burst her little plaid gingham yoke ! 

It is another of those psychological inclinations which 
a mother can easily utilize to arouse in her children the 
instinct of service. 

If Betty is an only child she has undoubtedly said 
many and many a time how she did wish she had a twin ! 
You only have to mention that magic word to receive a 
very interesting response from children: "She would 
be just my age, you see, and I'd just love her to pieces!" 
says little Barbara. Ruth explains to me sagely: "But 
it's too late being twins when you're ten, you have to 
begin as a baby." Alice says: "I do want a twin 
brother — somehow boys are so dreffully scarce nowa- 
days." Mary whispers, very wistful and shy: "I pre- 
tend I have a twin sister all the time, she lives inside 
the looking glass, you know. And she's just exactly 
like me, and her mother makes her dresses look just like 
mine. Her name is Martha. She's ever so nice." 

All too often we grown-ups neglect this magical World 
of Fancy in which a child lives. Yet it is so easy a 
trip to get there, and such fun to stay a while and 
play ! Suppose a group of children are at your home 
playing with Betty, and in a lull you ask their opinion 
on the subject of twins. There will probably be an 
enthusiastic response. 

You: "Well, I know how you can each get one!" 



172 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

They (fascinated): "You do! A really-and-truly 
twin, Mrs. Hathaway? Oh, goody, do tell us." 

You: "Oh, but it's a sort of secret society, and I'm 
afraid I couldn't tell unless you want to join." 

Betty. "Why, Mother Hathaway, a secret society? 
Can't I belong? And what's it called?" 

You (hesitating) : "Well, I really can't tell the ac- 
tual name to outsiders, of course, but the initials are 
S. A. T." 

They (giggling): "S. A. T. ! Sat on what?" 

You: "Oh, but I can't tell, except that each letter 
stands for something." 

They: "Can't we please join? Isn't it something 
we'd like?" 

You: "My dears, you would all just love it, espe- 
cially since each of you want a twin so badly. But, 
you see, this S. A. T. society is partly for fun and 
partly for work. One of you would have to be Presi- 
dent, another one Treasurer, another one Secretary. 
Would you like it?" 

Chorus: "Yes! Yes! Yes! And I'll be president." 
"No, you won't either, I will," etc., etc. 

1. Initiation Ceremony. 

After arousing their curiosity in some such way as 
this you can volunteer to initiate them into S. A. T. 
One by one they are invited into another room, where 
you shut the door and solemnly dress each candidate 
in a costume of whatever country you may have chosen. 
I would suggest China since there is such a splendid 
story book to use in connection with th eS. A. T. meet- 
ings. Mabel, the first initiate, equipped in a quaint 
pa jama suit (see chapter IV.) is feeling thrilled. Mys- 
teriously you pull over her head a pillow slip, and ask 
her to kneel before you. Taking her hands in yours, 
you say: "Mabel dear, I ask you solemnly do you 
really wish to have a twin?" 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 173 

Mabel's responses will probably be "yes" throughout 
the ceremony. 

You: "And will you promise faithfully to work to 
get her, and to keep her?" 

You: "Then I want to tell you, dear, that over in 
China there are thousands of little girls, just your age, 
dressed just as you are dressed now, who are waiting 
and waiting to be adopted by you. They have been 
waiting for years and years ! So S. A. T. means 'Society 
for Adoption of Twins', and each twin is to be a dear 
quaint, funny little Chinese girl. Everyone who joins 
the society promises to write a letter to her twin, to 
send her a Christmas box, and to earn enough money 
to send her to school (part of) a year. 

(Note: $15 is the amount which will send any orien- 
tal girl to any of our schools for one year; or $7.50 for 
six months; $3.75 for three months; $1.25 for one 
month. You will know best the financial possibilities 
of the initiates and can choose the sum they can likely 
raise. Only do not underestimate their abilities! One 
of the most amusing little books of 1919 is called "Deer 
Godchild," and gives the correspondence between a ten- 
year-old newsboy who decided to play godfather to a 
French orphan, at $36.50 a year, or 10 cents a day. 
How he grubbed for that money, and the sheer grit of 
the undertaking for a newsboy is not overcolored, for 
just such things have aroused the active sympathies of 
poor children to help other poor children during the 
war. So 5 cents a day will not overtax Betty and her 
friends, and it may lead to an actual correspondence as 
delightful as "Deer Godchild." There are endless ways 
of saving money, and of earning it, if sprightly wits 
are in earnest!) 

Mabel is next required to repeat the pledge, sentence 
by sentence: "I, Mabel Jones, do hereby promise to 
earn money enough to send my twin to school (part of) 
a year, to write her a letter and send her a Christmas 



174 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

box, and to pray for her every evening." You may 
then remove the pillowcase, and kissing her on the fore- 
head say: "I do hereby declare you a member of the 
S. A. T." After she has removed her Chinese suit, 
pin on her the membership pin ! 

This pin should be a very simple affair. The pin 
part may be one of the very smallest safety pins — 
choose the gilt ones, as they look more impressive than 
the silvery color ! Two small diamond-shaped pieces of 
bright blue cardboard should be pasted together, one 
on each side of the bar of the pin. Print the letters 
S. A. T. in a column on the outer diagonal. 

Mabel is then given that appealing little story called 
"How Long Must I Wait?" (2 cents. F.), and sent 
into another room, away from the uninitiated ( !), to 
read it while Initiate Number Two is going through the 
rites. 

After each new member has been initiated, and re- 
ceived a pin and a story, then holding hands all stand 
in a circle while this jingle is repeated: 

"We are the members of the S. A. T., 
We each must very busy be! 
By wearing these our secret phis 
We pledge ourselves to love our twins." 

The election of officers by ballot now becomes a 
highly diverting experience. They will probably long 
to increase the membership, and the only condition will 
be that whoever joins must assume the care of a twin for 
a certain length of time. The following suggestions 
will probably meet with marked approval: 

2. A Regular Day for Meeting. 

This should be once a week, or every other week, 
when they meet to sew on Christmas presents for their 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 175 

twins and to report on their progress in earning or 
saving the needed money. You will want to mother 
these meetings with the utmost devotion, so that enthu- 
siasm may never dwindle. Two very obvious aids are : 

(1) Chinese stories at each meeting. For this 
there is no more charming book than "Mook" (30 
cents), written by Mrs. Sites, of Foochow, China, about 
a real Chinese boy. It is not only very quaintly writ- 
ten, but will bring "twins" to the forefront every minute ! 
Be sure to get to know Moon Fairy, Moon Pearl 
and Crosspatch. Pages 224-278 in "Primary Mission 
Stories" will give stories about Little Miss Daffodil and 
pages 45-78 in "Junior Mission Stories" about Ling Te 
and Number Two. Consult a catalogue for Chinese 
leaflet stories. 

(2) Chinese Games. In "Mook" some real Chi- 
nese games are suggested, which can be played after 
the sewing and story hours are ended; also see games 
in chapter XL, such as "Won't You Come Into My 
Parlor?" and Telegrams. 

3. The Christmas Presents. 

Send for a leaflet called "How You Might Help the 
Missionaries" (free. F.) for suggestions. Little dressed 
dolls are always acceptable, also. Small workbags, 
equipped with sewing utensils, post cards, with paper 
neatly pasted over the backs, are suggested in "Mook" 
in such a way you can't resist sending some off at once 
to Plum Blossom's dear granny ! Indeed, if there is a 
granny in your home she might like to adopt a twin 
granny ! 

(And how I wish — by the way — that I could devote 
another whole chapter to adopting grannies! Our towns 
are full of dear forlorn souls, and sometimes because 
it's only Somebody-Just-Around-the-Corner we fail to 
see the glory waiting to be awakened in some lonely 



176 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

old lady, needing the cheerful brightness of your 
Betty's friendship, week by week. Your Church Vis- 
itor knows the names of these Shut-Ins; let Betty have 
the delicious responsibility of amusing a brand new 
grandmother, by sending her funny little letters with 
scrawly drawings describing school and playtimes; an 
occasional call to take her a bunch of pansies or of field 
daisies, an orange in winter, passing on the Hathaway 
magazines, loaning a book. Why not?) 

4. "The Doll Shop." (A little play to raise money). 
This play idea will be greeted with joy, as children 
never seem to have the slightest doubts about their 
ability to carry things through. Doubtless they could 
sell a number of tickets at 10 cents apiece, especially 
if these tickets were cut from colored cardboard in the 
shape of Chinese lanterns (see chapter V.) with mock 
Chinese writing on one side, and on the other the in- 
formation : 

"THE DOLL SHOP" 

A Playlet 

to be given at the home of Betty Hathaway, 

12 Pleasant Street, 
on Saturday afternoon, April 12, at 3 p. m. 
There will be some funny "side shows," 
too, so bring some extra nickels and pennies ! 

This playlet, "The Doll Shop," has already been used 
by a large Episcopalian Bible School as its Christmas 
drama, and is simple enough for any group of children 
to adapt to any stage ! Each of the S. A. T. members 
should be an actor: one girl to be Shopkeeper, two others 
Arabella's Mother and Father, the rest costume dolls. 
When the curtains are drawn these dolls are shown 
standing around — stiff, staring, unblinking, each with 
a conspicuous price mark. Some of them should have 
the original black price marked through with red, and 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 177 

a reduced amount marked below. A counter may be 
made from an ironing board resting on two chairs, with 
a sheet over it. Some of the dolls should be on 
"shelves", of course, formed from tables and chairs be- 
hind this counter. 

When the play opens the Shopkeeper begins going around 
dusting them off with a feather duster, blowing off soot, 
straightening a bonnet or a bow here and there. Carefully ex- 
amining one doll she says: "Oh, how provoking! Here is 
another doll with a cracked head. I shall have to mark yon 
down to 98 cents now"; or better yet, if one of the human 
dolls is actually minus a conspicuous front tooth the Shop- 
keeper laments : "Oh dear, oh dear ! I shall have to mark you 
down to 49 cents, dolly, until you grow a new tooth !" 

Enter the two customers. Gentleman carrying high silk hat 
and cane, Lady in long-trained dress, with feather hat, and, 
lorgnette! 

Lady: "Is this the famous Doll Shop, where you keep the 
talking dolls? Tomorrow is my little girl's birthday, and my 
husband and I want to get her the finest doll that is made. 
One with real hair, and with eyes that open and shut, you 
know." 

Shopkeeper: "Madam, I assure you all our dolls have the 
finest human hair, and I personally guarantee that their eyes 
will open and shut. Now here is our Mary-Mary-Quite-Con- 
trary doll, — let me wind her up!" (Winds up doll in back, 
between shoulder blades.) 

Mary-Mary-Quite-Contrary (dressed in sunbonnet and gar- 
den apron, and carrying a small rake and a green watering 
can, jerkily lifts the latter, and jerkily recites) : 

"I love to hear the blue bells chime 
And little cowslips moo. 
Of tiger lilies roaring I'm 
A constant lover, loo! 

But best of all the garden sounds 

To which I love to hark 
Is when at eve I go my rounds 

The Johnny- jum-pups bark!" 

(Bowing jerkily, says "Bow-wow!") 

Husband (slapping his sides with laughter: "Bless my soul, 
what a stunning doll! My dear, shan't we just buy it, and go 
home?" 



178 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Wife: "Oh, but Henry, dear, I don't believe it would suit 
Arabella at all, for it only costs 98 cents, so I'm sure the 
works inside it wouldn't last." 

Shopkeeper: "Well now, madam, here's the Queen of Hearts 
doll; being a queen she's real expensive, although I could give 
her to you this week for $3.49 — very special, and the best body 
that's made, I assure you." (Winds up doll between shoulder 
blades.) 

Queen of Hearts (covered with red cardboard hearts, and 
wearing a gold cardboard crown, jerkily holds up a big gold 
cardboard key which she jerkily fits into the keyhole of the 
red heart just over her own heart; as she recites) : 

"Hearts like doors 
Open with ease 
To very, very little keys, 
And don't you forget that two of these 
Are 'I thank you,' and 'If you please'!" 

Husband (clapping hands): "Bravo! my dear, she's a little 
jewel ! Come on, let's have her sent right home for Ara- 
bella." 

Wife:. "Now, Henry, please don't hurry so! Arabella is so 
beautifully polite already I don't see why we should pester 
her with reminders to say 'Thank you' and 'Please'. I want 
something very, very unusual, and captivating." (Peers 
around through her lorgnette.) 

Shopkeeper: "Maybe you would like our cute little Old 
Black Joe doll, madam. She's fast black, color warranted not 
to run, and she comes from Georgia." (Winds up doll.) 

Old Black Joe (has face blackened with burnt cork, and 
wears long black gloves or stocking over arms, and a red 
spotted handkerchief knotted around head. Carries small 
aquarium with goldfish, either real or celluloid, floating in it. 
Jerkily recites: 

"Oh, de gol' fish say to de polly wog 
'You'se gwine for to turn to a long-laig frog! 
You can't be han'some, and swim like nie 
An' be raised as a pet, 'cause don' you see 
De time is certainly boun' to come 
When you gotter git out of dis 'quarium! 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 179 

"An' de polly-wog say to de gol' fish, 'Sho, 
You ain't tellin' nuffin I don't know. 
I'd rather hop than swim, I vow, 
An' I doesn't like comp'ny much, nohow! 
I'se jes' bin waitin' f'um day to day 
Foh my laigs to grow, to be on my way!' 

"Now frogs is frogs, and fish is fish, 
An' it's nuffin but foolishness to wish 
To be changin' round like de white folks do 
An' dreamin' dem dreams dat can't come true! 
So honey, you stay whah you done belong 
And do yo' bes', an' you can't go wrong." 

Husband: "My love, what have you against this splendid 
doll?" 

Wife (wiping eyes) : "Oh Henry, it was only last week that 
naughty Fido ate Arabella's last little pet gold fish, and even 
on Fridays we never dare serve fish at meals, she weeps at 
the very word fish. Dear child !" 

Shopkeeper: "Say, Lady, I really think what you need for 
Arabella to play with is a little angel. Now here's a real ex- 
pensive doll that's as good as gold, pretty, with golden hair." 
(Winds up doll.) 

Angel (has white wings made of cheesecloth, stretched on 
picture wire. She carries an artist's palette. A cardboard 
palette will do, with colors daubed in a semi-circle. As she 
recites she makes jerky painting motions with brush) : 

"When little angels have been good 

And night is drawing nigh, 
God lets them take His color box 

And dabble up the sky!" 

Wife (severely shaking finger at angel): "Oh! oh! oh! I 
thought little angels always told the truth. You know per- 
fectly well that isn't the way sunsets are made, and as Ara- 
bella never tells fibs I couldn't possibly give you to her." 

Husband: "There's a sensible-looking little doll in a rain- 
coat. Let's hear her wound up!" 

Shopkeeper (winding her up) : "And she's a very truthful 
doll, mister, almost any family can vouch for what she says !" 



180 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Rain-Deab (dressed in mackintosh and rubbers, jerkily 
opens umbrella and holding it overhead repeats) : 

"The gentle rain falls on the just, 
And also on the unjust fellow, 
It falls upon the just because 

The UNJUST has the JUST'S umbrella!" 

Husband: "Ha! Ha! You're a clever little Rain-Dear; 
come on, let's buy her. Only $1.19, too!" 

Wife: "Henry, you shock me! Does Arabella ever keep 
anybody's umbrella? Then why inflict such an unnecessary doll 
on her? What's this queer doll with an extra arm jutting out 
behind, and an alarm clock around her neck?" 

Shopkeeper: "That. is the Behindhand Doll, madam. But I 
don't think she will suit such a paragon as Arabella, she's such 
a careless creature." (Winds her up!) 

Behindhand (fastened into all her clothes wrongly, hair fly- 
awry, etc.) : 

"Little Miss Hurry, 
All hustle and flurry, 
Comes down to her breakfast ten minutes late; 

"Her hair is a-rumple, 
Her gown is a-crumple, 
She's no time to button or hook herself straight. 

"She hunts and she rushes 
For needles and brushes, 
For books and for pencils flies upstairs and down; 

"If ever you'd find her, 
Just follow behind her 
A trail of shoe-buttons and shreds of her gown." 

("Junior World.") 

Wife: "Come on, Henry, we're wasting time. I can't insult 
Arabella's intelligence by giving any of these foolish dolls — " 

Shopkeeper: "Madam, just wait one minute, for I have just 
received a package by express today, unopened as yet — it might 
be just what you want." (Goes to door, and carries in a 
big package entirely wrapped in heavy paper and tied around 
with twine. It is addressed to "THE DOLL SHOP, c/o Miss 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 181 

Betty Hathaway, 12 Pleasant Street," etc. An envelope dangles 
from the string which the shopkeeper detaches and opens. In- 
side is a long blue Chinese scroll, which she reads out loud 
as follows: "Most celestial and glorious Shopkeeper! May 
you live to be a thousand years old and have ten thousand 
customers. I please you to open the accompanying package 
and find therein one Chinese girl doll, warranted not to 
crack. She do got heavenly voice, and if it make smiling in 
your honorable heart for to hear her operate said voice upon 
your worshipful ear, she will enthrall you muchly. The little 
song what she do sing have been stuck in her heart on Shang- 
hai, China, by your Baptist mission school, — she can't never to 
forget it! She can to talk other things, too, if a five cent 
piece are put in her left hand. Your miserably friend, 

Mr. Chinese Doll-Maker." 

Wife: "Oh, how quaint she must be! All the way from 
China, Henry, just think of that! See the Chinese labels 
(mock writing in heavy black) on the package. I'm sure she's 
just what we want for Arabella!" 

Husband, also excited, takes knife from pocket and cuts 
cords. He and Shopkeeper remove heavy paper, disclosing 
cunning Chinese girl. 

Shopkeeper: "Alas, her eyes are closed. I'll jiggle her to 
see if they open." (Jiggles, but eyes remain closed.) "I'll 
wind her up and see what happens!" (Winds.) 

Chinese Doll's eyes fly open, she bows politely, then sings 
"Jesus Loves Me" in Chinese: 

"Ye-su wa-re wo ai-su 
Sei-co-ni-zo ci-me-su 
Ka-re tsu-yo-ke re-ba 
Wa-re o-so re-ji-na. 

"Aa Ye-su ai-su 
Aa Ye-su ai-su 
Aa Ye-su ai-su 
Sei-co-ni ci-me-su." 

Wife: "Oh Henry, dear, isn't she lovely? Isn't she exactly 
what Arabella needs to make her unselfish and companionable? 
How much is she?" 

Shopkeeper (reading tag fastened on Chinese doll's suit): 
"This is not an ordinary doll. It costs $15 a year to keep her 
in our Baptist school, or $7.50 for six months, or $3.75 for 
three months, or $1.25 for one month, or 5 cents for one day." 



182 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Husband (pulling out check-book) : "I want her for a whole 
year." 

Wife: "And now put five cents in her left hand and see 
what she does!" 

Husband searches in vain for nickel, appeals to audience who 
may offer one; otherwise Shopkeeper gives it. 
Chinese Doll then recites: 
"There was a little 
Chinese girl 
Hindu 
Burmese 
Japanese 

Just about SO tall (measuring), 
Each morning she has rice to eat 

But never eats it all. 
Oh, no, she takes a little out — 

About SO much, I think (handful), 
And gives it to a wooden god 
That cannot eat nor drink. 

"She lays it down before his face 

And says a little prayer (clasps hands), 
The idol cannot see nor hear, 
I wonder— DOES HE CARE? 

"She does the very best she knows, 

'Tis what her mother taught her, 
She thought the idol old and grim 
Could help her little daughter. 

"Please, won't you help this Chinese girl 

To love your Lord in glory, 
And do all that you can to help 

Send her the old, old story?" (Bows.) 

After this you can step forward and explain to the 
audience, as well as to the Doll-Shoppers, about the 
S. A. T., and why the little girls want to raise money, 
etc. 

5. Side Shows may be a candy table, a lemonade 
table, a fish pond, a fortune-telling booth where cun- 
ning fortunes are written on the backs of tiny Chinese 
dolls. Or you might even achieve a comical Chinese 
Punch and Judy show with dolls. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHERS KNEE 183 

6. A Summer Christmas Tree. In "Everyland" for 
June, 1914, the writer had a little story called "S. A. 
T." which various groups of children everywhere have 
been carrying out in the five years since then, as sev- 
eral interesting letters indicate. After organizing an 
S. A. T. the original story tells how a summer Christ- 
mas tree was held on somebody's lawn one August, right 
where a real little pine tree was growing. It was deco- 
rated with tinsel and balls and candles, and a good 
many people in the neighborhood received this note in 
their morning mail, together with a tiny red cheese- 
cloth stocking: "There is going to be a summer Chris- 
mas tree on Mrs. Holmes' lawn, with Christmas carols 
and a Christmas story at seven o'clock, August 27th. 
Each of the little girls whose names are signed below 
is going to adopt a Chinese twin for (part of) a year, 
at ($15) apiece, and we thought you might enjoy at- 
tending the celebration and helping by hanging the en- 
closed stocking on the Christmas tree, with a gift inside." 

One western church had such an August celebration 
on the church lawn, two twins were adopted by the 
contributions received and 100 little presents were 
brought by the attendants ! In another city, a sub- 
urban family had such a tree, and a little Chinese girl 
lighted a candle every time a red stocking was hung on 
the tree. I think it was here that Van Dyke's "Other 
Wise Man" was told, the speaker explaining also about 
the S. A. T. The singing of the carols was lovely, and 
it did everybody good to know what the warm-hearted 
little girls were trying to do. 

All presents should be mailed to the Orient by the 
end of August in order to arrive in time for Christmas. 

7. Little Americans for Little Americans! 

But a twin does not need to be a far-off-across-the-sea 
personage, since our own cities and towns are full of 
lonely little foreigners hungry to know "real" Amer- 
icans ! Imagine some little Polish (or Italian, or Bo- 



184 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

hemian, or Chinese) twin for Betty who could come to 
play with her on Saturdays ; imagine the breathless tales 
she would carry home to curious Mrs. Jackenowski 
about Betty's Mrs. Hathaway ! Then imagine your- 
self calling on Mrs. Jackenowski and the resultant 
friendliness. Imagine Christmas morning with a Hath- 
away box of presents on the Jackenowski doorstep; 
imagine Sunday mornings when the scrubbed Jacken- 
owskis file solemnly into your churchy or perhaps into 
your mission chapel — warmed and uplifted in this 
strange land by the friendship with a "real" family. 
Multiply this by all the other S. A. T. families and 
you will see that all Christian Americanization means 
is a friendly acceptance of the ideals of the new coun- 
try; and it will all be due to the little Americans who 
adopted Twins and to the interested mothers who intel- 
ligently backed the project! 

8. "The Dream Chest" (10 cents) is a cute little 
Americanization play which the S. A. T. may present to 
raise money. 

"If I could make the laws 
For dear old Santa Claus, 
I wouldn't let him pass 
A single lad or lass!" 

(Selected.) 



CHAPTER VIII. 

"SUCCESSFUL RAINY DAYS" 

(Fourteen Scrap-book Suggestions.) 

"The rains descended and the winds blew and beat 
upon that house," while two disgusted little noses were 
flattened dismally against the window-pane! 

But you had known all along that some day such 
weather would intern Peter and Polly, so you had been 
wisely "laying by against a rainy day." You had vis- 
ited steamship agencies and procured their free and pro- 
fusely illustrated folders on trips to the Orient. You 
had written "Thomas Cook and Son," Head Office, New 
York City, enclosing a two-cent stamp with requests for 
illustrated leaflets on oriental travel. You had written 
Vantines for their oriental catalogue (Broadway, be- 
tween 18th and 19th Streets, New York), and you had 
laid in a supply of descriptive railroad booklets on 
Alaska, Mexico, New Mexico, Oklahoma, etc. You had 
been cutting interesting pictures from missionary maga- 
zines ("Missions," "World Outlook," "Everyland"), as 
well as from travel magazines like the "National Geo- 
graphic," and had docketed the pictures in separate en- 
velopes labelled "India", "China", "Alaska", etc. Ad- 
vertisements had caught your eye in the newspapers and 
magazines, and you had discovered that the "Literary 
Digest" was a mine of good pictures, and that the 
Waltham Watch had entered Korea, China, and Japan 
— with clever cuts ; cigarette "ads" gave you camels and 
Turkish men and maids; a patent medicine named 
Tanacra showed Hindu natives forging through jungles 
on elephant-back searching for herbs. Circus adver- 
tisements proved full of thrilling lions and tigers and 
camels ; and Juvenile Book Catalogues at Christmas 
time contained many "finds". And the rainy day ar- 
rived ! 



186 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Peter and Polly removed their dismal noses from the 
window panes when they heard you setting up a cut- 
ting table and cheerfully rattling the scissors against 
the paste tubes. 

"Why, whatever are you up to., mother?" they asked, 
and you replied, with unconcern: "Scrap-books!" 

And they helped — of course, they did ! Anybody can 
while away cheerful hour on hour by creating such 
books. One of the grave questions is a proper title for 
each book — a book is hardly a book unless it is dubbed 
something or other ! And a whole library of nameless 
books would be not only a tragedy, but a waste of time, 
since an endless amount of knowledge along general or 
specific lines may be gained from putting together scraps 
that are connected with each other. 

Each scrap-book may have covers of colored cardboard, 
with sheets of plain paper in between. It is as well 
not to bind the pages together until the book is complete. 
A number of titles are offered for your choice, with 
ideas as to development. The titles should be neatly 
lettered on the outside, and verses worked in, such as 
"Travel" in Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses". 

1. RAINY DAY SCRAP-BOOK. 

On the outside may be pasted a picture of a rainy 
day — perhaps an umbrella or a rubber heel advertise- 
ment — with this jingle printed below: 

"The rain is raing very hard, 
I cannot play out in the yard, 
So I'll just make a little book 
To show how other countries look!" 

This should be a general book of places around the 
world, — temples, quaint houses, harbors, etc. It might 
be a pretended trip Peter took, in which case an ocean 
steamship is shown first, with an X marking the port- 
hole to indicate "My stateroom on the trip across". En- 
courage him to make up little experiences to write 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 187 

under the various pictures, making the trip really his 
own. Stories, on Story Nights (chapter X.) might 
connect themselves with the different scrap-books. 

2. MY "HOW DO YOU DO?" SCRAP-BOOK. 

On the cover should be a picture of an Oriental child 
shaking hands with an American child. Any two pic- 
tures can be merged into one by drawing in the hands. 
Underneath it print : 

"Little drops of water, little daubs of paint, 
Make my Unseen Playmates look very dear and quaint!" 
The most valuable plan for this kind of book is to 
start with a picture of one or two of Peter's "very 
own" missionaries in Burma, for instance, and pasted 
all around them little Burman girls and boys. A de- 
scriptive leaflet may be bought for 2 cents telling about 
the children of any land, and should be pasted in the 
book. Let Peter have the fun of writing the letter 
ordering the leaflet by name from the catalogue, and 
enclosing postage. He can leave space for it in his 
book, and the mere "watchful waiting" will add an 
extra value when it finally arrives in the mail, addressed 
to him: — a side issue of The Mysterious Charm of 
Bundles ! 

3. MY JAP-O-LANTERN. 

This scrap-book should have the covers and inner 
sheets cut out in the shape of a lantern. See chapter V. 
for patterns. The pictures should be of Japan only; 
people, temples, cherry blossoms, your own mission- 
aries, the Fukuin Maru, leaflets on Japan, etc. En- 
courage the children to attempt original drawings occa- 
sionally, and to add little verses to explain the pictures. 
For instance, beneath a jinrikisha with a coolie: 
"This is the Man Who Plays Horse All Day — 
A very queer Horse, for he often will say : 
'Where will you go?' and 'How long will you stay? 1 " 



188 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

Or under a little picture of a Japanese house and gar- 
den: 

"IF I WERE JAPANESE" 

If I should live in fair Japan 

How quaint my home would be! 

My house would be of light bamboo, 
With paper panes, you see; 

And sliding panels for the walls 

Of all the rooms and all the halls, 
If I were Japanese. 

My shoes I'd take from off my feet 

Before I went inside; 
And if the days were fine, I'd ope 

My sliding panels wide. 
And then I'd sit on thick soft mat, 
And have some tea, or this and that, 

If I were Japanese. 

My tiny garden at the back 

Would be both sweet and cool, 
With streamlet small, and wishing -bridge, 

And deep, dark goldfish pool. 
The old stone lantern in the night 
Would always give a cheery light, 

If I were Japanese. 

The temple gong's rich, mellow boom 

Would sound on evening breeze; 
And fireflies would begin their dance 

Among the willow trees. 
Arid while I slept, a wind-bell gay, 
Would keep all evil things away, 

If I were Japanese. 

(Blanche Elizabeth Wade, in "Everyland.") 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 189 

Underneath a picture of a Japanese sister with a 
baby tied on her back could be: 

THE CRADLE-THA T-WALKED-ON-TWO-FEET! 

"The Japanese sister jumps rope all day, 
And skips round the yard in her Japanese play, 
While tied on her back is her brother, dear me! 
His head is as wobbly as wobbly can be!" 

4. "A CHINESE FAN" SCRAP-BOOK. 

This may be cut in the shape of a Chinese oval fan, 
and should contain only pictures of China, mission- 
aries, etc. On the cover print: 

"Father is a BASEBALL FAN— 

And sits out on the bleachers; 
Sister is a MOVIE FAN— 

Which much disgusts her teachers. 
Mother waves a BAMBOO FAN — 

To cool her heated features; 
While I am a CHINESE FAN— 

Because I love the creatures!" 

For poems to go with the pictures use "I Am a Little 
Chinese Girl" and "Jesus Loves Me" in Chinese, both 
given in chapter VII. 

5. MY OWN JUNGLE BOOK. 

This is to be about India: parrots, monkeys, snakes, 
elephants, lions, tigers, mud huts, bullock carts, Hindu 
people, bathing in the Ganges, pictures of mission build- 
ings and missionaries, "Jesus Loves Me" (in Telugu), 
and "I Am a Little Hindu Girl" (chapter VII.) . Circus 
advertisements will furnish gorgeous animals. On the 
front may be printed : 



190 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

" ' G-R-R-R-R-R — hear the lion growl! 
WHO-O-O-0 — hear the jungle owl! 

HISS-S-S hear the jungle snake 

Its sly and stealthy motions make! 

Hear the busy endless chatter 

Of monkeys calling 'What's the matter f 

Hear the thud of giant feet 

As elephants plod through the heat! 

I'm making this a jungle zoo, 

And hope it's interesting to you!" 

Belle Brain's "Adventures With Four-Footed Folk" 
(Revell, $1.00) would make splendid stories to tell 
in this connection. This scrap-book, and the next three, 
are especially good fun for Peter to make ! 

6. THE "GO" BOOK. 

Peter will be amused to cut out pictures of vehicles 
and modes of travel the world around: American auto; 
Indian travois; Alaskan dogsled; Mexican burro; Af- 
rican hammock and pole; Chinese sedan chair; Bur- 
man bullock-cart; Japanese jinrikisha; Hindu elephant- 
back; Mohammedan camel-back, etc. Perhaps he 
could put a picture of some Mr. or Mrs. Missionary 
beside each vehicle, so connecting a name with the pic- 
ture. "Chapel-Cars" in America are a novelty which 
must not be omitted. For the front, page : 

"'G'dap!' and 'Whoa!' 
Said any old way 
Make Go-Things go 
Or Go-Things stay! 

7. HOUSES FOR RENT. 

Under a row of world houses print: 

"Houses for Rent. 
Apply to Peter Hathaway, Agent." 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 191 

Most boys like to know how things are built, and 
will enjoy collecting a scrap-book full of houses, tem- 
ples, famous buildings in Oriental lands as well as pic- 
tures of our mission buildings. Encourage him to find 
out the "why" of certain things: why pagodas have 
an uneven number of stories; why Chinese pagodas are 
not temples, but memorials erected by loving widows; 
why the Taj Mahal was built; why houses in the Philip- 
pines and Burma sit up on stilts ; why our India schools 
and hospitals have cool broad verendahs; why the roofs 
of Chinese houses tip up at the corners. Names may 
be chosen for the houses so that in renting them to a set 
of Polly's world dolls, for instance, Peter will know who 
should select "The Little House That Is Made of 
Paper" (Japan) ; "The Little House That Is Built in 
Half An Hour" (Africa) ; "The Brown House on Stilts" 
(Burma) ; "The House Made Out of Ice" (Alaska) ; 
"The Tepee Made of Skins" (Indian) ; "The House 
Upon a House" (Mexican Indian pueblos) ; etc. This 
little game will be fun to play endlessly, the dolls of 
each nation being pasted opposite the proper mission 
buildings, schools, etc. 

8. SHIPS AHOY! 

A log of the World's Famous Ships. 
I'm Captain of this fleet 
Of famous ships I'll meet; 
I'll interview the different crews 
To find out missionary news! 

This scrap-book could be cut in the shape of a very 
large white-sailed sail boat, the boat itself painted 
brown. Or if a square-covered book is used, ships 
should decorate the covers — everything from Roman 
triremes to stuffy two-masters, and from Spanish frig- 
ates to modern ocean liners. A dictionary will fur- 
nish drawings which may be traced through thin paper, 
then pasted in the scrap-book, so that a record may be 



192 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

made of the boats, new and old, which have helped 
make history. 

A map of both hemispheres should come first in the 
book, with the couplet below it: 

"Thus far," says Definition, and draws a map. 

"Westxvard!" cries Suggestion, and builds a boat! 

The boats should be numbered, and their numbers 
placed on the map where their routes lay. If colored 
crayons are used this will give a clearer itinerary at the 
end of the series, a separate color designating each ship. 
If a page of the scrap-book is devoted to each boat, 
and a few sketchy drawings or pictures are pasted there, 
plus a few facts, then quite a history of famous boats 
may be compiled. A few suggestions are given below: 

(1) Paul's voyage and shipwreck, trace route from 
Asia Minor to Rome. Cut out Acts 27 and 28 from an 
unused Bible, and on the same page where they are to 
be fastened, paste some pictures of Paul, etc., taken from 
Sunday School lesson leaflets. The gospel is now 
started westward. 

(2) 1492. Columbus discovered the West Indies in 
the Spanish frigate "Santa Maria". Trace his route, 
and devote a page to a picture of his ship, some wav- 
ing palm trees, etc. 

(3) 1519. Magellan discovered the Philippines, 
sailing from Spain in the "Victoria". Picture of old 
ship, and of Philippine villages. 

(4) 1607. Virginia settlers sailed from England to 
Jamestown in the ships "Susan Constant", "Godspeed" 
and "Discovery". Three ships at top of page, also pic- 
tures of Capt. John Smith, Pocahontas and Big Chief 
Powhatan. A few tawny tepees, hand-drawn and col- 
ored, will add to the effect. 

(5) 1609. Hendrick Hudson sailed up the Hudson 
River in the "Half Moon" ; a little later, Dutch settlers 
bought Manhattan Island (now New York) from the 
Indians for $125 and built their quaint gable-roofed 
houses where once wigwams had been. Twenty years 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 198 

later 14 languages were spoken in this new Dutch city 
called "New Amsterdam", prophetic of New York's pres- 
ent polyglot population. Divide this page into four 
parts: first — the ship; second — Indian tepees and In- 
dians; third — some tiny "Dutch Cleanser" maidens with 
a Sapolio "Spotless Town" in the background; fourth — 
a modern view of New York sky-scrapers. 

(6) 1620. The Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth 
rock from the ship "Mayflower". Picture of three In- 
dians: Samoset, Squanto and Massasoit to decorate the 
page with some pilgrim Priscillas and John Aldens ! 

(7) 1620. The first negro slaves were shipped from 
Africa in the "Treasurer", landing in Jamestown, thus 
beginning the dreadful system of slavery which ended 
only in 1864 at the close of the Civil War. Pictures 
of black people in bandana handkerchiefs ("Aunt Je- 
mima's Pan Cake Flour" advertisements are invaluable, 
also "Cream of Wheat") and Abraham Lincoln. 

(8) 1682. William Penn and the Quakers sailed 
from England in the "Welcome", settled in Penn's 
Woods, now Pennsylvania. 

(9) 1771. Hans Egede sailed from Sweden to 
Greenland on the "Hope". Draw pictures of ice houses, 
fur-clad natives, and tell his story as given in "Junior 
Mission Stories", pages 373-379. 

(10) 1796. "The Duff" sailed from England for 
the Society Islands in the Pacific Ocean. For mission- 
ary adventures with savage cannibals see "A Cruise of 
the Island World" (F. 10 cents) or "Yarns of South 
Sea Pioneers" (F. 20 cents). If possible procure both 
books, as they will give excellent stories for Story 
Nights, as well as explain about the five next boats. 

(11) 1830. John Williams, on an island named 
Raratonga, in the Pacific, built his own ship, "The Mes- 
senger of Peace". See chapter III. of the "Yarns", and 
chapter II. of the "Cruise". 

(12) 1839. "The Camden", given John Williams 
by some English friends. See chapter IV., "Yarns". 



194 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(13) 1864. In a ship called "The Southern Cross" 
John Coleridge Patterson set sail for the island of 
Santa Cruz. See chapters VI. and VII. of the "Yarns". 
Thrilling — just what boys should hear. 

(14) 1893. In a steam launch called "The Miro", 
John Chalmers had many an adventure in New Guinea. 
See chapter IV. of the "Cruise" and chapter IX. of the 
"Yarns". 

(15) 1857. John G. Paton in his mission ship 
"Dayspring" sailed among the islands of the New He- 
brides, as told in chapter VI. of the "Cruise". 

(16) 1899. The "Fukuin Maru". Send for 3 cent 
leaflet (F.), "The Gospel Ship of the Inland Sea", or 
read the spicier account in Mrs. Montgomery's "Fol- 
lowing the Sunrise", pages 197-204. 

(17) Do not omit Dr. Wilfred Grenfel, of Labrador. 
Consult a Public Library. 

9. THE "HUNGRY" SCRAP-BOOK! 

Where our food comes from will form another inter- 
esting book. On the outside, a picture of children eat- 
ing, and the following: 

"I'm often M-T, R-U? 
And eat pies, jellies, and stew! 
But I wish that I knew 
Where such things first grew — 
I'm going to search the whole world through 
And write my findings here for you! 

On one page have a picture of a child saying grace: 
"Give me this day my daily bread" and that verse of 
Stevenson's : 

"It is very nice to think 
The world is full of meat and drink, 
With little children saying grace 
In every Christian kind of place." 
— Child's Garden of Verses, Charles Scribner's Sons. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 181 

Another good poem is: 

JACK HORNER UP-TO-DATE. 

Little Jack Horner 

Sat in a corner 
Eating a very queer pie; 

He saw in a trice 

It held every thng nice 
From the lands where the mission fields lie. 

From Ceylon came the spice, 

And from China the rice. 
And bananas from African highlands; 

There were nutmegs and cloves 

Sent from Borneo's groves, 
And yams from the South Sea Islands. 

There were nuts from Brazil 

All the corner to fill, 
And sugar and sago from Siam; 

And from Turkey a fig 

That was really so big, 
Jack's mouth thought, "It's larger than I am." 

There were pomegranates fair 

Grown in Persia's soft air, 
And tortillas from Mexico found there, 

And there did appear 

Grapes and grain from Corea 
And all of the things that abound there. 

A Syrian date 

Did not turn up too late, 
He need not for tea to Japan go; 

Tamarinds were not few, 

There were oranges, too, 
And from India many a mango. 



196 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

"Now" thought little Jack, 

"What shall I send back 
To these lands for their presents to me? 

The Bible, indeed, 

Is what they all need, 
So that shall go over the sea." 

(M. B. Banks, in "Over Sea and Land.") 

Pictures of food raised in America will be found scat- 
tered throughout magazine advertisements: tractors 
ploughing, with the yellow harvest fields waving in an 
adjoining picture (insert the first verse of "Oh Beauti- 
ful for Spacious Skies") ; Campbell's soups invariably 
show either canning factories with neat "cooks" or 
fields where the vegetables are raised. Two chapters in 
"Jack-of-All-Trades" are devoted to people who fur- 
nish us food in America; tea comes to us from China; 
Ceylon, etc. ; coffee from Java, Cuba, etc. ; rice from 
India and China; sugar from Cuba and Hawaii; ba- 
nanas, dates, figs, mangoes, etc., from tropical coun- 
tries. A fascinating book can be made, luscious enough 
to make Peter's mouth water ! 

10. THE STAMP BOOK. 

This speaks for itself, as stamp collections are always 
fun to gather. A few facts about each country could be 
added attractively, with pictures. 

11. VANITY FAIR. 

This will amuse Polly: the way people dress around 
the world ! On the cover have a picture of an American 
lady looking at herself in a mirror (e. g., a soap or cold 
cream advertisement) with these words printed beneath: 

"What do folks wear, 
Oh Vanity Fair? 
Everyone's queer 
Over there — over here; 
What do folks wear, 
Vain Vanity Fair? 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 197 

Several suggestions are: 

(1) On one page have a picture of a very rich per- 
son and a very poor person, with verses 2-9 cut from 
James 2 and pasted between. 

(2) A picture of tawny oriental lilies with verses 
28-33 cut from Matthew 6 pasted underneath: 

(3) The 2 cent leaflet (F.), "Oriental Costumes and 
How to Make Them", will explain some details in re- 
gard to clothes. Quaint titles will add much to the fun 
of making the book: "Pockets Two Feet Long" orders 
the Janpanese lady ; "A Hat With a Button on Top" or- 
ders Mr. John Chinaman; "Shoes Two Inches Long" 
groans his poor wife; "Silk Trousers — The Rage for 
Everybody in China !" "Button, Button, Who's Got the 
Button?" — Answer: — nobody in India, where they "loop 
the loops" with their draped clothes, and then re-loop 
hastily one minute later ! "Red Fezes and Veils" in 
Turkey; "Pillows on the Head", the Hindu men's tur- 
bans! "Sunshine Suits for Kiddies" in Africa, India 
and Burma; "Bells on Her Fingers and Rings on Her 
Toes" — Heathen Jewelry Notes ; "Top Knots and Other 
Nots" — Siamese and Korean hair coiled into top knots ; 
women do not wear hats in heathen lands ; in China 
women carry fans that do not fold, men the kind that 
fold. "Laundry Hints" — washing done mostly by the 
riverside, ironing done by padding and pounding. In 
Korea and Japan clothing is ripped open along seams 
to wash, then re-sewed ! "All-Over Embroidery !" — 
African tattooing. The story of who makes us our 
clothes in America is a fascinating tale along the "Jack- 
of- All-Trades" line: the factory, mill and tenement 
workers. 

12. MY VERY OWN WORLD. 

William Carey, the "Consecrated Cobbler", had a 
hand-made map of the world on the wall of his shop, 
with facts about the various lands written on each. 
Every child should be helped to feel a similar interest 



198 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

in his own world: the teaching of it, and the saving 
of it, and the loving of it! A personal bond which 
will be hard to break, if formed in Junior years. On 
the cover write the title, with a map of the world be- 
neath, and the lines: 

God gives His World into my hands: 
"Carry my gospel to all lands, 
You're little yet, but you can do 
The small things that occur to you." 

Maps, population facts, and flags of each oriental 
country — anything and everything to make the lands 
seem real ! Near the beginning have one sheet called : 
MY WORLD. (1) Who Made It? With Genesis 1 
cut out of an old Bible and pasted underneath the ques- 
tion. (2) Who Loves It? With John 3:16 cut out and 
pasted below. (3) Why is it my very own world? 
Mark 16:15. Leaflets concerning each country may be 
inserted also. 

13. SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE. 

One of the most amusing and valuable scrap-books 
will be one on money, for on the mission fields $alarie$, 
$chool$, $cholar$ and $ickne$$ all begin and end with 
dollar signs ! Throughout the book let every word con- 
mencing with an "s" become a dollar sign. 

One page could geographically show where American 
money goes in one year ! For instance, a picture of a 
candy box: — $150,000,000 spent yearly on candy, or 
3,750,000 pounds. A picture of soda water glass: — 
$160,000,000 a year, or 32,000,000 glasses. Movies — 
$180,000,000, or 36,000,000 tickets. For world mis- 
sions, only $16,000,000! 

Also try a See-Saw page. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 199 

SEE SAW 
EITHER OR 

Five Cents Will Buy 
Either Or 

1 carfare 2 New Testaments 

1 nickel's worth of candy 100 Christian leaflets 

Ten Cents Will Furnish 
Either Or 

1 movie ticket Schooling for an oriental 

child 2 days ($15 a 
year) 
1 ice cream soda Sunday cards for 200 

heathen boys and girls 
Twenty-Five Cents Places 
Either Or 

1 baseball in your game A Bible in the hands of 

a student 
1 doll in your doll house A Bible woman at work 

one day 
Fifty Cents Pays For 
Either Or 

1 story book A child in a Christian 

kindergarten 1 month 
1 mechanical toy A native teacher 4 days 

~'-i~rx ■"■'■--■•- > -'■:■■"" -.- ^ ■ in India 

A clothing page worked out in terms of what money 
will do is instructive and fun to make. In Jemima's let- 
ter, chapter III., a list of sums and their equivalents is 
given which may be worked over to suit the prices of 
the clothing chosen. Use attractive pictures from a 
fashion magazine, choosing something belonging to 
Polly's own age: Dress — $10.00 — 5 months' endow- 
ment of a hospital bed (at $25 a year). Shoes — 
$4.50 — 4 months' schooling for some little Burman, Chi- 
nese or Hindu girl (at $15 a year). Hair ribbons — 50 
cents — Bible woman two days' visiting in ten homes a 
day, etc., etc. 



200 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

"How very neat I now shall be, 
And wear my clothes more carefully, 
Since every single thing I wear 
Can send some heathen 'over there' 
To hospital, or church, or school — 
I'll just obey the Golden Rule 
And do to others what I'd wish 
If I myself were heathenish!" 

Bible verses on giving should be cut from an unused 
Bible and pasted in the scrap-book, with illustrations. 
A Bible school class once made little books on "Money" 
which were a joy to see: one girl had the woman who 
lost a coin sweeping in the corner (all hand-drawn), and 
Ananias and Sapphira in three scenes was most dra- 
matic ! Any good concordance will furnish plenty of 
texts under the words "giving", "tithes", "mite", 
"pounds", etc. Encourage the children to illustrate the 
texts. 

14. LADIES' HOME JOURNEYS. 

This is loads of fun for a group of High School girls 
some rainy afternoon. It is to be done on similar lines to 
the Ladies' Home Journal, of course, and should be writ- 
ten on large folded sheets of shelf paper, with an editor 
for each department. 

(1) There shoidd be a "heart-interest" page edited 
by Miss Love Lorn Old Maid, who decorates the edges 
with brides and grooms and engagement rings, then tells 
how people in various countries get married. Pages 61- 
82 of "The Child in the Midst" gives many instances, 
also the 3 cent leaflet "Bridal Pictures" and the 1 cent 
story "The Wife That Cost Ten Cows" (both F.). 

(2) A "Better Babies" page, with pictures of chil- 
dren and their cradles and caretakers the world over. 
See verses under Jap-o-Lantern Scrap-book. 

(3) A "That Reminds Me" page, edited by Miss 
Chestnut Burr, with funny jokes, especially on "English 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 201 

as she is spoke", many of which are given in chap- 
ter XI. 

(4) An advertising section, especially take-offs on 
the Oriental "autos" would be fun: The Pack-hard — the 
Hindu bullock cart; Pullman — Japanese jinrikisha; The 
Caddylack — Chinese sedan chair; The Dodge — the Chi- 
nese wheelbarrow; The Fierce Arrow — African hammock 
slung on poles ; The Ford — elephant-back ! 

(5) Oriental menus would form another page, edited 
by Miss Ever Eatin. 

(6) A Fable by Miss Hara Pinn on "The Taught- 
Us and the Hair" would bring in hair dressing foibles 
round the world. 

(7) A Page of Bargains, edited by Miss Silver 
Penniwise, would give all sorts of sense and nonsense 
under Want Ads, or Lost and Found Columns. "Found 
— One jet black African baby who wants to go to 
school", etc. 

Note: These little scrap-books, when they have done 
their duty in your home, may prove a real boon to the 
Junior Mission leader in your church, or an acceptable 
contribution to the children's ward of a local hospital. 



202 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



"THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE" 

When I was sick and lay a-bed, 
I had two pillows at my head, 
And all my toys beside me lay 
To keep me happy all the day. 

And sometimes for an hour or so 
I watched my leaden soldiers go, 
With different uniforms and drills, 
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills; 

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets 
All up and down among the sheets; 
Or brought my trees and houses out, 
And planted cities all about. 

I was the giant great and still 
That sits upon the pillow-hill, 
And see before him, dale and plain, 
The pleasant land of counterpane. 
(Robert Louis Stevenson, "Child's Garden of Verses.") 

Charles Scribner's Sons. 



CHAPTER IX. 

"SICK-A-BED PLAYTIMES" 

Being sick has a distinction all its own, and no doubt 
Jane appreciates her importance ! But when the "worst 
is over", there is that dismal slump, when she is obviously 
getting better, but outwardly very irritable. What she 
needs is a diversion ! 

It may be you have been wanting to try out some of 
the preceding playtime suggestions on Jane, but the poor 
child never seems to have any free time, children are 
that way now-a-days : practicing two hours, lessons to 
study after school, dancing lessons once a week, house- 
work to be done — there never is a leisurely interval until 
the dull day when Jane falls sick. Then you realize 
that the Get- Well-Days offer an unparalleled oppor- 
tunity, you have her lying there, crazy for something 
new. Or if Dick is the young invalid, the same plans 
will work successfully with him. Here are a few sugges- 
sions for your choice: 

1. STORIES FOR WEE INVALIDS. 

Medicine is never much of a joy to take, whether it 
is sweet or bitter, so a series of Pill Bottle stories may 
serve the double purpose of making the Time-To-Take- 
Medicine not only pleasant to look forward to, but in- 
structive as well. 

The pill bottle might be camouflaged a little, if you 
wish: the flat top of the cork painted black, and a little 
face inked in with three round dots and three dashes, as 
indicated on one side of the cork. This is really enough, 
although a plain white label could be pasted part-way 
around the botle, with a neck-tie and cut-a-way coat 
effect sketched on it. 

"Continued-at-the-Next-Dose" stories may be told, as 
follows : 



204 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(1) First dose. "Mr. Pill Bottle has come to call 
on Miss Jane Hathaway, if you please — is she home? 
Just see how stiff and straight he stands on his round 
glass foot, and what a nice little glass collar he has ! 
And my dear, every time he visits a sick patient he 
lifts off his little cork hat to say politely: 'Kindly take 
a pill every hour, and you'll feel better tomorrow.' 

"So suppose you pop one of his pills into your mouth 
this very minute, while I tell you some more about 
him. For Mr. Pill Bottle, poor fellow, doesn't want 
to stay home in America, he's perfectly wild to travel! 
Not that he wants a trip for his health, for I don't 
suppose a Pill Bottle could feel sick; although of course 
he must feel terribly empty when every last one of his 
pills is gone ! But he is wondrous wise, because once 
upon a time he took a trip clear around the world in a 
doctor's satchel, so he knows about all kinds of sick 
people in every land; and it just breaks his heart that 
he can't rush back to them and lift off his cork hat to 
say: 'Just take one of my pills, if you please, and you'll 
feel better tomorrow !' 

"I'm sorry he has to stay home, aren't you? And 
every once in a while when I see a Mr. Pill Bottle full 
of water, I know it must be tears, because he can't go to 
cure those dreadfully sick kiddies across the sea!" 

(2) Second dose, etc. Very mild accounts of heathen 
treatment may be culled from the older stories and 
suggestions following. "Shoo Fly !" "Quack-Quack !" 
"The Comfortable Pain" and "Two Pills Dry on 
Tongue", "Rat-i-tat-tat" (child with crutches), "Eye 
Spy" (blind child) are some of the many labels which 
may be attached to these stories, so that they may be 
remembered separately, although in each of them polite 
Mr. Pill Bottle lifts his cork hat and eventually cures 
the patients ! 

2. DOLLY DEAR ! 

The mysterious charm of bundles offers an easy solu- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 205 

tion for the seven to ten year old invalid. First let her 
receive a letter (as suggested in chapters III., IV., V.) 
and then, with an hour between, bundles containing a 
doll at a time, a house, etc. But for a sick child it would 
not be wise to carry out as elaborate a scheme all in one 
day as was detailed in chapter III. However, a letter 
each day, followed at intervals by bundles, will not be 
too exciting, and when Jane wearies of sitting up to play 
with them, there should be stories on hand to read, so 
that the dolls become dramatis personnae! 

8. EYE SPY SCRAP-BOOK. 

When the young Sick-a-Bed can sit up long enough to 
do cutting out and pasting an "Eye Spy Scrap-Book" 
will be just the thing: on the cover a child sick in bed 
(find a bed spring or patent medicine or blanket adver- 
tisement!) with the verse: 

"I'm sick in bed! While here I lie 
I'm going to try to play Eye Spy, 
And travel far to lands unknown, 
And keep a scrap-boa?- of my own." 

Fifteen other suggestions in ftk ipter VIII. will afford 
endless occupation ! 

4. THE EVER-SO-SORRY POWDER CO. 

For ages-eleven-to-fourteen a very amusing one-sided 
correspondence may be maintained with an unknown Mr. 
Ever-So-Sorry. The first letter may be written on a 
telegram blank, or on business paper: 

THE EVER-80-SORRY POWDER CO. 

Miss Jane Hathaway, 
400 Pleasant St., 
Nicetown. 
Dear Madam: 

It has come to the notice of our firm that you are 
ill. We greatly regret any discomfort you may be 
feeling, and we take pleasure in informing you that 



206 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

every day, until your recovery, we will mail you some 
of our Ever-So-Sorry Powders, guaranteed harmless 
and sure to make the time in bed pass pleasantly. We 
make no charge for this medicine, as we are a firm 
founded on sympathy, desiring to help sick persons 
everywhere. 

Hoping for your speedy recovery, we are, dear 
madam, 

Very cordially yours, 

Earnest Ever-So-Sorry, 
(Secretary.) 

After this has aroused sufficient interest, other letters 
may begin arriving at intervals, containing some of the 
guessing contests described in chapter XI. These may 
be sent in all kinds of curious shapes, with the answers 
kept separately, but in the same envelope. Oblong col- 
ored papers are the simplest form these can take; use a 
separate paper for each question, then fold them into 
homeopathic powders, number the outsides, and write 
the answers inside a larger powder. Or if you have ad- 
ventured with scissors and cardboard far enough to 
attempt houses ,animals, etc., then these powders may 
be made even more amusing: — 

(1) A gray elephant, for example, has an envelope 
pasted on his back, with powders inside it asking the 
"Twisted in a Jungle" questions. The elephant is en- 
closed in a larger envelope, correctly addressed, with 
this wording on the back flap: "Straight from the 
Jungle to You. Frightfully Twisted!" 

(2) For "Bees in Missionary Bonnets" use a card- 
board bonnet with feathers or flowers pasted on it, and 
all the questions written on large letter Bs cut from 
paper. On the flap of the envelope containing the bon- 
net write: "A Swarm of Bees is Inside. Don't Get 
Stung." 

(3) For the Ant Contest write on the flap: "Some 
Relatives of yours are playing hide and seek inside. 
Catch them !" etc. Boys will like this even better than 
girls, as the writer has proved from experience ! Bible 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 207 

school teachers can amuse sick scholars this way, by 
mail. 

5. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE TELE- 
PHONE BOOK. 

A sudden wealth of medical mission material for 
children has appeared in recent months, making unnec- 
essary extensive suggestions along these lines. Among 
the many simple stories available, the following are 
especially worthy of mention : 

"The Bothersome Baby." (Nine primary medical 
stories. 10c, F.) 

"The Flyaway Doctor." (Nine junior medical stories. 
10c, F.) 

"The Blue Cotton Nurse." (Nine intermediate med- 
ical stories. 10c. F.) 

"Stories from Faraway." (Sixteen stories, half med- 
ical. Fleming H. Revell, $1.00.) 

After digesting the information contained in such 
stories Jane might next receive a telephone book care- 
fully wrapped up and addressed to her, with this letter, 
headed by the picture of a telephone : 

"Patient Jane, 

I have been much gratified by your show of interest 
in the other sick-a-bed folks far over the seas. So today 
I am sending you a telephone book, with a sheet of 
paper and a pencil. Since you are sick-a-bed, with 
plenty of time, may I request that you do a little 
medical research work for me? For I greatly need to 
know the facts which you can glean from the telephone 
book (especially the supplement at the back, with its 
Classified Directory) : 

(1) How many doctors there are in our town? 

(2) How many dentists there are in our town? 

(3) How many nurses there are in our town? 

(4) How many drug stores in our town? 

(5) How many hospitals in our town? 

(6) How many free dispensaries in our town? 

(7) How many Public School clinics in our town? 
(8)' Is there a Deaf Mute Institution in our town? 



208 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(9) Is there a School for the Blind in our town? 

(10) Is there a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Children? 

(11) Is there a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Animals? 

(12) Is there an Orphan Asylum? 

(13) Is there an Old Folks' Home? 

After you finish your search you will be amazed to 
compare the results in this one town of ours with the 
entire heathen world in the orient, where there are 
only: 

1,011 missionary doctors for a billion people. 

For 100 million women in India — 159 women doctors. 

For 200 million women in China — 93 women dctors. 

For 50 million women in Africa — 15 women doctors. 

For 100 million women in Moslem lands — 20 women 
doctors. 

Divide these figures and see how many patients each 
doctor is likely to have. Too many, isn't it? 

There is a new Baptist hospital in Swatow, China, 
which is the only one for six 7nillion people! That is 
as if all the people in New York City, plus all the 
people in Albany, plus all the people in Utica, plus all 
the people in Syracuse, plus all the people in Rochester 
had only ONE hospital ! ! ! Yet there are hundreds of 
hospitals and dispensaries in New York City alone. 
It isn't quite fair of us to keep so much for ourselves, 
is it? No wonder the poor people over there keep on 
going to their old quack doctors when they have fevers 
and broken arms and mumps ! You could start a little 
fund all your own, the way Ida Gracey did. Get your 
mother to read you pages 103-130 in a lovely book 
called 'Red, Yellow, and Black' (75 cents). But DO 
SOMETHING YOURSELF, won't you? 
Hopefully yours, 

Dr. Frank Twig, 
Friend of Sick-a-bed Folks." 

6. SOME DOCTORS ! 

After these days of information and research, the 
young invalid is ready to hear about some of our splen- 
did medical missionaries, pioneer ones like Dr. Peter 
Parker in China, Dr. Allen in Korea; martyr ones like 
Dr. Eleanor Chestnut; modern ones like Dr. Ida Scud- 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 209 

der; native ones like Dr. Mary Stone, Dr. Ida Kahn, 
Dr. Li Bi Cu, Dr. Hu King Eng, all of China, and 
Dr. Ma. Sau Sa of Burma. Your own medical mis- 
sionaries should be located on the map, and hospitals 
marked with a red cross. Read those wonderful stories 
of the healing miracles of Christ, and at dusk each even- 
ing sing softly to the tune Hursley: 

"At even' ere the sun was set 

The sick, oh Lord, around Thee lay, 
Oh, with what divers pain they met, 
Oh, with what joy they went away." 

Story sources which may be borrowed from libraries, 
and leaflets which you may buy for yourself, are noted 
below : 

"Notable Women of Modern China." (Margaret 
Burton. $1.00. Stories of the Chinese doctors men- 
tioned above. F.) 

"A Crusade of Compassion." (Allen and Mason. 
35 cents. F.) 

"Ministers of Mercy." (Franklin. 40 cents.) 

"Your Sister Is Sick." (Free. F.) 

"Our Medical Work in the Orient." (10 cents. F.) 



210 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 



A MOTHER'S HYMN 

Up to me sweet childhood looketh, 

Heart and mind and soul awake; 
Teach me of Thy ways, O Father! 

For sweet childhood's sake. 

In their young hearts soft and tender 

Guide my hand good seed to sow, 
That it's blossoming may praise Thee 

Wheresoe'er they go. 

Give to me a cheerful spirit, 

That my little flock may see 
It is good and pleasant service 

To be taught of Thee. 

Father, order all my footsteps, 

So direct my daily way, 
That, in following me, the children 

May not go astray. 

Let Thy holy counsel lead me, 

Let Thy light before me shine, 
That they may not stumble over 

Word or deed of mine. 

Draw us hand in hand to Jesus, 

For His Word's sake unforgot, — 
'Let the little ones come to me, 

And forbid them not." 

(From "Song Echoes from Childhood," 
by Harriet Jenks and Mabel Rust.) 



CHAPTER X. 

"THE ONCE-A-WEEK STORY NIGHT" 

One is always hearing of delightful families who do 
some special thing once a week: perhaps it's ice cream 
for dinner on Sunday, or playing games each Thursday 
evening, or having baked beans for supper Saturdays — 
something, anyhow, that is regular and time-honored, 
to which everyone looks forward with pleasant antici- 
pation ! This chapter pleads for another weekly occur- 
rence: a story night on a stated evening. You have no 
idea what fun it will be, for of course this must be the 
most alluring and captivating and successful of all the 
things you do as a family. Perhaps there could always 
be candy, or pop-corn to pop, or marshmallows to toast, 
or chestnuts to roast. And of course there should be 
games to follow up the impressions received, as sug- 
gested in chapter XI. There might even be prizes — 
some simple addition to the "Bundles" or "Dressing- 
Up Box", a dime for the "Twin", a new book, or a 
camouflaged leaflet for the Inch Library. 

As a mother you know the comings and goings of 
the family and can select the evening when everyone is 
most likely to be at home. Where children are too young 
for church-going at night, Sunday evening would seem 
to be ready-made for stories, provided you are obliged 
to be at home yourself. Where there are older children 
in their teens who should be forming the church-going 
habit, some other evening should be chosen; and these 
older children should be trained to help in the story- 
telling. Stay-at-home mothers can render a great serv- 
ice to the church in training girls and boys in proficiency 
not only in the actual telling of stories, but in clever 
ways of adapting the presentation. In case it is a sheer 
impossibility to have this a weekly institution, at least 
you can dub it an "Every-Once-in-a-While Club", and 
one evening when everyone is to be home each member 



312 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

of the family should discover a mysterious little paper 
pennant (colored !) tucked inside his napkin, stating 
in a cryptic fashion: "E. O. I. A. W. C. 7:30 tonight." 
In chapter II. on Bedtime Prayers and Stories, sug- 
gestions are given for the very littlest children, who 
love best the most intimate little stories spun from mere 
nothings, such as buttons and beds and baths ! This 
chapter offers a more advanced variety, for between the 
ages of eight and eighteen a whole octave of emotions 
lies ready to be sounded sympathetically, and with the 
possible exception of triplets, a family of three children 
like vastly different types of tales, according to their 
ages! 

1. FOR THE FAMILY-FULL-OF-FACTS. 

If you have already introduced your children to the 
mysterious charm of Bundles so that they have played 
with all sorts of dolls, and dressed up in all sorts of 
costumes, then they have gathered such an interesting 
amount of information about people, houses, dresses, 
customs and needs that these story nights will not need 
much garnishing. But even when there has been no defi- 
nite preparation, missionary stories, if well selected, 
never fail to interest children of this age. The teen- 
age is a hero-worshiping age and the stories of mis- 
sionary girls are among the most thrilling in the world. 
Beside them "Nick Carter" and the baseball heroes 
shrink into insignificance. Picture your little family 
some evening — the blazing logs crackling cheerfully on 
the hearth — firelight on the children's faces — someone 
reading aloud those thrilling stories "Mook", "The 
White Queen of Okoyong", "Uganda's White Man of 
Work", "Red, Yellow and Black", "Ann of Ava", etc., 
etc. Other books that may be used in this connection 
are too numerous to mention. Many of them are well 
known; new ones are appearing constantly. The various 
Mission Boards will furnish lists and the Missionary 
Education Movement has a printed list of one hundred. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 218 

The following list, containing some books already men- 
tioned, is merely suggestive: 

"Livingstone the Pathfinder." 

"African Adventurers." 

"White Queen of Okoyong." 

"Mook." 

"Junior Mission Stories." 

"Primary Mission Stories." 

"Chinese Tails and Other Tales." 

"Jack-of- All-Trades." 

The following books contain many heroes each to 
whom to introduce your family: 

"Fifty Missionary Heroes Every Boy and Girl Should 
Know." ($1.15. F.) 

"Yarns of Heroes of Africa." (20 cents. F.) 

"Yarns of Heroes of India." (20 cents. F.) 

"Yarns of Heroes of the South Sea Islands." (20 
cents. F.) 

"Comrades in Service." (Burton. 40 cents. F.) 

"Servants of the King." (Speer.) 

"Princely Men in the Heavenly Kingdom." (Harlan 
Beach.) 

"Red, Yellow and Black." (Fahs. 75 cents. F.) 

2. TWICE TOLD TALES. 

Impersonations "get across" in a more telling fashion 
than a straight story. In any of these above-mentioned 
series let somebody dress up occasionally and in the 
dim candlelight tell in her own words a thrilling life 
story, such as that of Chundra Lela's search for peace 
("A Hindu Priestess," by Lee. Revell). If you own 
a victrola, it will be beautiful to follow the story imme- 
diately by playing the records: "Oh, That I Knew 
Where I Might Find Him", "If With All Your Hearts 
Ye Truly Seek Him", etc. Any story may be re-told 
and gain doubly in value, both to the narrator in cos- 
tume and to the audience. 



214 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

3. THE A. E. F. STILL CARRIES ON. 

An interesting way to help your children learn defi- 
nite .facts about the "American Expeditionary Force" 
of their own denomination is to prepare a service flag, — 
red cardboard, with a white paper notebook pasted in 
the center with figures, representing the number of mis- 
sionaries, in blue stars on the cover. Inside, devote 
separate pages to filling out data about these Christian 
soldiers of yours, as follows: 

(1) "In Our Trenches." Total number of mission- 
aries, so many in Burma, so many in Africa, etc. — for 
all countries. 

(2) "Our Field Hospitals.'' Find out, by countries, 
just where your denomination has hospitals, how many 
doctors "man" them, how many native assistants. 

(3) "Our Training Camps." List the number of de- 
nominational schools and colleges by countries, naming 
best-known institutions. 

(4) "Co-operating With Our Allies." List of union 
institutions — hospitals, colleges, etc. 

(5) "Somewhere in France." On this page paste the 
three leaflets: "Foreign Missions as a Soldier Sees 
Them" (1 cent. F.), "Paltan Singh" (free. F.) and 
"Ngulhao" (free. A. B. F. M. S.) Also see "World 
Outlook" for March, 1919, for facts about the splendid 
contribution made by the 200,000 Chinese in France, the 
million and a quarter Hindus, etc. 

(6) "Behind the Lines." List the names of denomi- 
national officers, state headquarters, and total budget for 
carrying on work last year. 

(7) "Onward, Christian Soldiers." 

(1) Who is our Captain? 

(2) Call for Recruits. John 15:16. 

(3) Armor. Eph. 6:13-17. 

(4) Orders. Matt. 28:19-20. 

(5) Hymns— "Who Is On the Lord's Side?" 

"The Son of God Goes Forth to War." 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHERS KNEE 215 

(8) Game, called "Concealed Weapons", written on 
a cardboard shield (all answers in Eph. 6:13-17): 

(a) TELHME (helmet). 

(b) WORDS (sword). 

(c) ELDISH (shield). 

(d) HOSES of APEEC (shoes of peace). 

(e) LEGDIR (girdle). 

(f) ALSTABPETER (breastplate). 

Note: The facts for this evening may be gleaned 
from "Following the Sunrise" (Montgomery. 35 cents. 
W. A. B. F. M. S.) and "Annual Report" W. A. B. F. 
M. S. 15 cents) and "Our Work in the Orient" (F. 15 
cents). 

4. "GO WEST, YOUNG MAN !" 

Ever since history began, civilization seems to have 
traveled west. For the older teen ages a study of church 
history connects school history with the real reason 
for all progress — history is His Story! A map and a 
blue pencil to trace the gospel route are necessary, as 
well as these books: 

"World Missions and World Peace." (30 cents. F.) 
"Missionary Milestones." (30 cents. H.) 
"The Call of the Waters." (50 cents. H.) 

5. SING-SONG NIGHTS. 

Because hymn-loving is on the wane, here is a way 
to build hymns right into the lives of your little family 
in a fascinating way, — with glue and scissors and pic- 
tures, and, of course, stories ! In other words to change 
them in the twinkling of an eye from mere words into 
veritable moving pictures. 

This is ideal for Sunday afternoons, in the evening 
telling stories of how the well-known hymns came to 
be written. A good book for this is "A Treasure of 
Hymns" (Amos R. Wells) ; also see your public library. 

Pictured hymns are along the scrap-book idea, one 
hymn forming a book. A music staff on the outside, 
with the hymn title printed up and down the bars like 



216 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

music notes, may designate the scrap-books. Here are 
some suggestions: 

1. "From Greenland's Icy Mountains." 

Once when Reginald Heber was visiting a minister a 
missionary hymn was badly needed to go with a mis- 
sionary sermon, and he went into a corner of the 
room and wrote it! Eventually he went to India as a 
missionary himself, and wrote other hymns we all love: 
"Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty", "The Son 
of God Goes Forth to War" and "Brightest and Best." 

The hymn is full of picture-words; print a line or 
two, together with a descriptive advertisement — e. g., 
icy ounmtains — sunny strands — ancient river (Nile, 
with pyramids) — golden sands — palmy plains — heathen 
bowing to idols — lamp lighters — ocean. 

2. The Son of God Goes Forth to War." 

Crusaders — crown — blood red banner — cup of woe — 
cross bearer, etc. 

8. "Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life." 

Crowded street scene — gloomy tenement — forlorn 
woman and child — cup of water — mountain side — 
Heaven. 

4. "0 Beautiful for Spacious Skies." 

Blue skies — golden waves of grain — purple mountains 
— fruit trees — Pilgrims — wilderness — prairie schooner 
— pictures Washington and Lincoln — picture New 
York, many nationalities. 

5. "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun." 

World — sun — moon — many races — bars of music — tiny 
children — prisoners — workers. 

6. "Oh, Word of God Incarnate." 

This is a splendid hymn to memorize, and it gives 
the most graphic images of what the Bible is to man- 
kind: — lantern for footsteps, golden casket for gems — 
banner — chart and compass — lamp of purest gold — all 
nations. 

7. Other Practical Hymns 

That will repay you for scrap-book work: "Angel 
Voices Ever Singing." 8. "When Morning Gilds the 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 217 

Skies." 9. "The Spacious Firmament on High." 10. 
"Now the Day is Over." 11. "A Mighty Fortress is 
Our God." 12. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." 
13. "O Jesus, Thou Art Standing," etc. 

6. MELTING POT STORIES. 

We say "Americanization" so glibly these days that it 
will be fun to become young Christopher Columbuses and 
discover America for yourselves, in a new way ! 

1. The Pot is America. 

2. God is the Alchemist. 

3. The Ingredients are all the Nationalities within 
America. 

4. The Desired Product — Christian citizens. 

5. The Fuel — Churches, Sunday Schools, Libraries, 
Social Centers, Public Schools, Playgrounds. 

6. The Flame — the Light of the World: Jesus. 

An effective way to tell this is by means of a big black 
pot, which you put on a table. One of the children 
labels it "America" with a piece of chalk. For the in- 
gredients have a number of slips of paper, each with a 
nationality written on it. One by one read off the 
names and deposit them in the pot. Then take pieces 
of kindling wood and with a pencil let the children 
label them with the names of the agencies which are 
making Christian citizens. One by one put this fuel 
under the pot. Then on orange-colored paper flames 
let each of them write a verse about Jesus, — the light 
of the world, a light shining in darkness, etc. Then 
place the flames through the kindling wood. 

For another evening, tell stories of the Americaniza- 
tion of these new-comers, as "The Promised Land" 
(Mary Antin) and "Out of the Shadows" (Rose Cohen) 
at any public library. Two other books are "Stories 
of Brotherhood" (30 cents. H.) and "Jack-of-All- 
Trades" (25 cents. H.) showing what immigrants do 
for us. 



218 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

7. "A MOTHER'S OWN BOOKSHELF." 

Any number of books have already been mentioned 
— so many you may be wondering which to select. But 
for your own use the current "Prayer Calendar", "An- 
nual Reports" and "Missions" are invaluable. Your 
husband will be sure to enjoy the magazine, "World 
Outlook/' from cover to cover. It costs $1.50 a year, 
but the pictures are unexcelled, it is wonderfully 
breezy and up-to-date, sure to be more than you ever 
dreamed a missionary magazine would be: — An ideal 
Christmas present to the man in the family ! Catalogues 
of Publications are gold-mines, of course, and the free 
literature listed in them often proves as well worth own- 
ing as that for which you pay. It has been said that 
women's missionary societies are an "organized mother- 
hood of the world". On your own bookshelf keep some 
books that tend to make you a mother to every child 
everywhere: "The Child in the Midst" (Labaree. 25 
cent. F.), "The King's Highway" (Montgomery. 30 
cents. F.), "Things as They Are" (Carmichael) and 
"Lotus Buds" (Carmichael). Many of these may be 
drawn from Public Libraries, — also "Things Japanese" 
(Chamberlain) and "Things Chinese" (Ball). 

8. FAMOUS QUOTATIONS EVERY CHILD 

SHOULD KNOW. 

1. "Expect great things from God; attempt great 
things for God." — William Carey, India. 

2. "I will go down, but remember you must hold the 
ropes." — William Carey, India. 

3. "Now let me burn out for God." — Henry Mar- 
tin, India. 

4. "I have seen in the morning sun the smoke of 
a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been." 
— Robert Moffat, Africa. 

5. "Anywhere, so it be forward!" — David Living- 
stone, Africa. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 219 

6. "God had only one Son, but He was a missionary 
and a physician." — David Livingstone, Africa. 

7. "The prospects are as bright as the promises of 
God." — Adoniram Judson, Burma. (This, after those 
frightful experiences in prison!) 

8. "If you want to serve your race, go where no one 
else will go, and do what no one else will do." — Mary 
Lyon. American pioneer for education of women. 

9. "The world has yet to see what Jesus Christ can 
do with a life wholly devoted to His service." — Dwight 
L. Moody. 

10. "Caesar, Charlemagne and I have founded great 
kingdoms by force, but they did not last. Jesus Christ 
has founded an everlasting Kingdom on love, and today 
thousands would die for Him." — Napoleon Bonaparte. 

11. "We have given the Orient warships and tele- 
phones, steam cars and sewing machines and silk hats, 
but they are none the better for these, and except the 
old man be changed within, all these trappings will make 
him a more potent force for evil." 

12. "The Bible is the most democratic book in the 
world. If we read the Bible aright, we read a book 
which teaches us to go forth and do the work of the 
Lord in \he world, as we find it; to try to make things 
better in this world, even if only a little better, because 
we have lived in it. That kind of work can be done only 
by the man who is neither a weakling nor a coward; by 
the man who in the fullest sense of the word is a true 
Christian, like Great Heart, Bunyan's hero. We plead 
for a closer and wider and deeper study of the Bible, so 
that our people may be in fact, as well as in theory, 
'doers of the word and not hearers only.' " — Theodore 
Roosevelt. 

Suggestions : In order to make these quotations live 
with the children, as well as for them, let each member of 
the family choose one of them, print it neatly (with little 
illustrations, perhaps) on a chart, to hang in his room 



220 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

one month, then everybody change around mottoes for 
another month, etc. In this way they will sink in, never 
to be forgotten, as one inevitably reads and re-reads 
such printed words, even unconsciously. Stories of the 
men who said the words will add great significance to 
their meaning; and the little pictures, here and there, 
will make them more vivid. 

Lyman Abbott's little story about the acorn will stand 
re-telling many times in your family, as follows: "I 
pick an acorn from the ground and hold it to my ear, 
and it says to me — 'By and by I'm going to be a place 
where birds can build their nests. By and by I will 
be used to build great houses; and men will keep warm 
beside me on cold winter evenings. By and by I will be 
the strong ribs of a great vessel, and the tempest will 
beat against me in vain while I carry men over the 
oceans!' But I said: 'O foolish little acorn, how canst 
thou be all this?' And the little acorn whispers: 'God 
and I ! . God and I !' " 



CHAPTER XI. 

"MISSIONARY GAMES, GUESSING CONTESTS, 
AND CHARADES. 

Doll families, playing house, dressing up, "twins", 
and stories will all gain an added charm — and "stick in 
the mind" more permanently — if games and guessing 
contests make the children's minds continue to dwell on 
these same ideas in a different fashion. These sugges- 
tions may solve the question: "What shall we play at 
our party ?" or they may add spice to the time following 
your quiet Once a Week Story Night. Many of them 
are emphatically "follow up" games, to drive home im- 
pressions, but they can all be adapted for any occasion ! 

1. SOME BLIND FOLD GAMES. 

These are each to be played on the same principle as 
"Tailing the Donkey", the players to be blind-folded 
one at a time, turned around three times, and started on 
a haphazard course toward the house, pagoda, or man, 
as the case may be, to pin the object in their hands in 
the correct place. 

(1) Won't You Come Into My Parlor? 

After a series of stories and playtimes on China this 
little game is especially amusing. A Chinese house (see 
figure 58) is drawn on a good-sized piece of white cotton 
or paper, to be hung against the wall at a convenient 
height for the players. The roof may be made of red 
cloth stitched in place by sewing machine, or else painted 
red. The walls may be brown, gray or black (cloth, or 
painted), the doorway left white. Inside it is printed: 
"Won't you come into my parlor?" Each child is given 
a pin and a little Chinese doll (simplify figure 12, show- 
ing a back view only, the only painting need be black 
hair and pig tail) made of blue paper or cloth. Six or 
seven can be cut out at one time, and the only hand 
work necessary will be painting the hair and queue black. 



222 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

The child who pins his doll inside, or nearest inside, the 
doorway is the winner. 

(2) Roofing the Pagoda. 

This is appropriate to follow Japanese stories and 
playtimes. A three-storied pagoda should be drawn on a 
piece of white material (see figure 90). The two lower 
roofs should be either painted green, or made of green 
material sewed in place, and the house part should 
be either black or gray, with a red doorway. From green 
cotton or green paper should be cut roofs of a size to fit 
the top story ; and one such roof, with a pin, given to 
each child. The winner is the one whose roof most 
nearly fits over the white top roof. 

(3) Turbaning the Hindu Man. 

Hindu men are practically never seen without tur- 
bans, as the stories and India play-times will have 
taught, so the children will enjoy relieving this gentle- 
man's temporary embarrassment by trying to pin gay 
red, yellow, blue, etc., turbans on the place where a 
turban should be ! As in the preceding games he may be 
drawn on a piece of white cotton, his face, hands and 
feet colored brown, his hair and beard black. (See 
figure 15.) 

(4) Stepping the Step-Ladder! 

Burma play-times will make children appreciate the 
fact that without a ladder the Little House-on-Stilts is 
unlivable ! So draw such a little brown house on white 
cotton (see figure 55), and draw the two parallel sup- 
ports of the ladder, but no rungs ! Each child is then 
given a little brown paper "rung" to repair the useless 
ladder, so making steps of approach to the front door. 

(5) Something for every known race may be made, 
of course ! "Feathering the Chief" (a featherless war 
bonnet on an Indian chief, and a set of colored paper 
feather plumes to be pinned in place) ; "Tagging the 
Immigrant" (an immigrant in apron and shawl at Ellis 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 223 



Island needs a government inspector's tag in order to 
be admitted to the U. S. A. ! For these tags use little 
pieces of square cardboard with a string loop. On the 
tags write "U. S. A., O. K.) ; "Dogging the Dog Sled" 
(an Eskimo dog-less sled, and a team of brown dogs to 
be pinned in front of the sled) ; "Trimming the Christ- 
mas Tree for So and So" (when Sam and Sarah have 
been making a Christmas box for somebody somewhere 
they will love playing this game. From green card- 
board cut a big Christmas tree,, rooted in a brown tub. 
Then from different colored bits of cardboard cut can- 
dles, stars and balls to be pinned on certain black dots 
on the tree.) Etc. 

2. A BOAT RACE FOR BOYS. 

After making a scrap-book about missionary ships, 
or after stories about them, a boat race between any 
two of them will be huge fun. It can be played indoors 
or outdoors in two ways : 

With paper cornucopias for boats. This requires two 
parallel strings of equal length, on which the cornucopias 
are to be strung, and blown by the crews from one end 
of the string to the other ! If played outdoors clothes 
poles are often exactly the thing, and some verendahs 
have supports conveniently arranged for just such a 
boat race. The cornucopia boats are easily made by 




rolling a square piece of paper into a cone, and pinning 

or pasting the loose end in place. Use different colors 

Paper boats: (a) Curve a piece of paper into a cone, and 

pin it. (b) Trim off edges and run string through cone. 



224 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

for the boats. This is breathlessly exciting, of course, 
and sometimes when both girls and boys are playing, the 
girls may be on one side, the boys on another. If the 
boys are Japanese sailors, try the handicap of making 
each successive "blower" wear an old kimono. A leader 
to whom the writer suggested this game said that after 
the race one boy said to another: "Say, did you know 
Capt. Bickel died?" "No — who's Captain now?" "No- 
body — can't find anyone yet." "Gee, I wish I could!" 

3. FOUR GAMES ON MISSIONARIES AND 
THEIR STATIONS. 

After missionary story nights these four games will 
help to fix the different names to the proper countries. 

(1) Looping the Loops. 

A good-sized map of the world should be pasted on a 
10-cent bread-board, rectangular or circular according 
to the style of map. Into each country screw a brass 
hook (the kind that have right-angled hooks, not circu- 
lar ones). By some contrivance fasten this board against 
the wall. Picture screw eyes and wire are best, hanging 
it up like a picture. Then use two boxes of rubber fruit 
jar seals, each circle labeled with the name of a mis- 
sionary. The game consists of standing about eight 
feet away from the board and tossing the rubber circles 
to land on the hook of the proper country ! Livingstone, 
for instance, ought to catch on the African hook, if he 
does it counts the player five points, but if he loops onto 
some other country it counts one point. Tally will be 
kept, of course, and to aid the inevitable disputes about 
"who belongs where" it will be well to have a list of 
countries and heroes on the back of the board. Families 
who grow impatient for meals half an hour too early 
should keep this game hung outside the dining room 
door ! 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 225 

A list of countries with the more famous missionary 
heroes follows: 



Africa — 


Labrador 


Robert Moffat 


Dr. Grenfel 


David Livingstone 


Japan 


Alexander Mackay 


Guido Verbeck 


Mary Slessor 


Joseph Hardy Neesima 


Alaska 


Mexico 


Sheldon Jackson 


Melinda Rankin 


William Duncan 


Persia 


North America 


Henry Martyn . 


John Eliot 


Fidelia Fiske 


Marcus Whitman 


India 


Sheldon Jackson 


William Carey 


South America 


Alexander Duff 


Allen Gardiner 


Henry Martyn 


Burma 


South Sea Islands 


Adoniram Judson 


(Pacific) 


China 


Pundita Ramabai 


Robert Morrison 


John G. Paton 


Dr. Peter Parker. 


James Chalmers 


Greenland 


John Coleridge Patteson 


Dr. John Kenneth 


John Williams 


Mackenzie 


Turkey 


Hans Egede 


Cyrus Hamlin 




[ China, or 


!) "Looping the Loops" 


in J India 
| Africa 




^ Burma, etc. 



A similar map game can be evolved for each country, 
only instead of by-gone heroes, use present-day mission- 
aries for the far circles, and have them looped onto their 
proper stations. Maps are not often large enough for 
the hooks to be far apart for this station game, so 
paste a small map in the center of the board showing 



226 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

China, for instance. Then put rows of hooks up and 
down the board, each hook named for a prominent 
station in your denomination: Shanghai, Swatow, 
Shaohsing, etc. "Our Work in the Orient/' (Foreign 
15 cents) and "From Ocean to Ocean (Home, 15 cents) 
will give you names, stations, and stories. 

(3) "Bean Bag Missionaries " 

A similar plan is to utilize a bean bag outfit, by past- 
ing the name of the country over the hole and naming 
the bean bags. 

(4) "Where Do You Live?" 

An outdoor adaption of this game is popular, because 
it is of a romping nature ! Signs are hung up : one 
clothes pole is Alaska ; another Burma ; the kitchen 
steps are India; the back fence the South Sea Islands; 
the lilac bush, Japan, etc. 

The players all stand around the one who is "It," who 
calls out: "Where do you live, John G. Paton?" Every- 
one then has to recall rapidly where Paton did live, and 
make a dash for it, as the one who gets to the proper 
place first becomes "It." Score can be kept, and various 
changes made to make it more exciting. 

4. TELEGRAMS. 

Old and young always enjoy this game, and when 
played with a missionary significance it gives an ideal 
chance for expressing the impressions received on story 
nights. Each person playing has a pencil and paper. 
One person mentions a letter of the alphabet which 
everybody writes down on his paper. The next per- 
son in line mentions another letter, which is noted, 
and so on around until ten letters have been written in 
a row. Telegrams have ten words (if economically pre- 
pared !) so from these ten letters the players are to form 
a telegram from some heathen country; each word must 
commence with the letter listed in the row of ten letters 
in order. E. g., here are some telegrams which some 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 227 

children made from the ten letters: P, B, J, M, A, F, 
C, I, G, V — "Pretty bright Japanese maiden artistically 
fixes chrysanthemums in green vase." "Presbyterian 
Board just met about forcing colleges into getting volun- 
teers." "Persian boy joins mission although father 
cruelly inflicts grievous vengeance." "Pasha Bala, jeal- 
ous Mohammedan, acknowledges following Christ. In- 
fluence grows valuable." "Physicians begin job molli- 
fying all famished Chinese into getting vaccinated." 
"Philippine baby jabs mustard about face. Can I get 
vaseline ?" (Variety enough ! But because Missions had 
to be the theme it brought out all sorts of ideas.' 

5. ELEVEN GUESSING CONTESTS. 

These pencil and paper contests are adaptable for 
many occasions, and interesting to all ages. For parties 
they may be written on attractive pieces of cardboard 
cut out in appropriate shapes, or with pictures from 
"Missions" decorating the top. For family play, follow- 
ing the Once-a-Week-Story Nights, a less elaborate way 
would be for one person to read the question aloud, giv- 
ing plenty of time for the players to think out the an- 
swers. For sick-a-bed children they can be mailed as 
"pills and powders" as suggested in chapter IX. 

(1) The Burmese Twins and What They "Ate"? 

(a) When Ma-Bo ate chota hazri wearing a gray lonc- 

gyee? (Ingratiate. In-gray-she-ate.) 

(b) When Ma-Bo looks exactly like Ma-Bin? (Du- 

plic-ate.) 

(c) When Ma-Bin hits back at Ma-Bo? (Retali-ate.) 

(d) When Ma-Bo stirs up trouble? (Agit-ate.) 

(e) When Ma-Bin gently helps Ma-Bo? (Mitig-ate.) 

(f) When Ma-Bin brings water from the well to Ma- 

Bin to drink? (Liquid-ate.) 

(g) When Ma-Bin sits alone, and thinks and thinks? 

(Medit-ate.) 

(h) When Ma-Bo plants rice, what do the paddy plants 
do? (Vegit-ate.) 

(i) When Ma-Bin rows Ma-Bo on the river? (Navig- 
ate.) 



228 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(j) When Ma-Bo's family move away? (Migr-ate.) 

(k) What Ma-Bo and Ma-Bin do before the Christmas 

exercises at our mission? (Anticip-ate.) 

(2) "Anybody's Aunt!" 

In the Turkish home of Ibrahim Mohammed there 
was a harem, and in the harem lived his mother and his 
sisters and more aunts than he could shake a stick at ! 
Are they in your family, too? 

(a) An aunt which tells what Ibrahim played when he 

didn't go to school in the mosque? (Tru-ant.) 

(b) An aunt which tells how Ibrahim bent over easily 

to pray five times a day? (Pli-ant.) 

(c) An aunt which tells what Ibrahim was when he 

was nice? (Pleas-ant.) 

(d) An aunt which tells how Ibrahim looked in his 

gorgeous silk robe and his red fez? (Eleg-ant.) 

(e) An aunt which tells what Ibrahim's sister was 

when she was very cross? (Termag-ant.) 

(f) An aunt which tells what the village well became 

one summer? (Stagn-ant.) 

(g) An aunt which tells what kind of diphtheria the 

village got from drinking this well water? 
(Malign-ant.) 
(h) An aunt which tells another name for the Turk- 
ish Empire? (Lev-ant.) 

(3) "Missing Letters in a Japanese Home." 

(x stands for the missing letters.) 

(a) Max — Underfoot in every Japanese home? (Mat.) 

(b) Lxxe — No Japanese can live without it? (Life.) 

(c) Xoxe — The more the Japanese take from it the 

larger it grows? (Hole.) 

(d) Rxox — It's all over the Japanese house? (Roof.) 

(e) Xoxs — Found in Japanese suburbs? (Lots.) 

(f) Xraxt — Gives the Japanese a cold, cures a cold, 

and pays the missionary doctor? (Draft.) 

(g) Bxaxtx — Desired by homely Japanese women? 

(Beauty.) 

(h) Xextxexs — Often called down in Japan? (Feath- 
ers.) 

(i) Xaxx — Gets a good backing from a Japanese sis- 
ter? (Baby.) 

(j) Xixrxkisxa — A grown-up Japanese baby carriage? 
(Jinrikisha.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 229 

(4) "A Chinese Age Contest." 

(a) In what age did the Chinese grandpa's house 

stand? (Vill-age.) 

(b) At what age did Chinese grandpa marry Chinese 

grandma? (Marri-age.) 

(c) What age shows he was a brave soldier? (Cour- 

age.) 

(d) What age did he worship in the gaudy temple? 

(Im-age.) 

(e) What age was he afraid of from evil spirits daily? 

(Dam-age.) 

(f) What age will grandpa receive when he dies and 

lives in an ancestral tablet? (Hom-age.) 

(g) What age does poor meek grandma endure? 

(Bond-age.) 

(h) What age do Chinese birds wear? (Plum-age.) 

(i) What age does the Chinese missionary travel 
around with? (Lugg-age.) 

(j) What age did the villagers build for him to live 
in? (Parson-age.) 

(k) What age did he use to write to us about his vil- 
lage? (Post-age.) 

(1) What age will grandpa reach if he lives long 
enough? (Dot-age.) 

(5) "Twisted in a Hindu Jungle." 

These letters when properly transposed will spell the 
names of various animals in the jungles of India: 

(a) Soongome (mongoose). 

(b) Padrole (leopard). 

(c) Talligora (alligator). 

(d) Present (serpent), 
(c) Lulgborf (bull-frog). 

(f) Kacopec (peacock). 

(g) Trapor (parrot), 
(h) Noocrips (scorpion), 
(i) Obar (boar). 

(j) Pedicteen (centipede), 
(k) Somsoup (opossum). 
(1) Ocrab (cobra), 
(m) Peelthan (elephant), 
(n) Repthan (panther), 
(o) Yemnok (monkey), 
(p) Tophyn (python). 



280 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(6) "Bees in Missionary Bonnets." 

(a) What bee buzzes when a missionary starts some- 

thing new? (Be-gin.) 

(b) Which bee makes her early? (Be-forehand.) 

(c) Which bee describes the condition of the heathen 

before she came? (Be-nighted.) 

(d) Which bee tells how the cannibals painted them- 

selves gorgeously? (Be-daub.) 

(e) Which bee describes the cannibal hung over with 

charms and fetishes? (Be-deck.) 

(f) Which bee tells what the witch doctor thinks is the 

matter with his patient? (Be-witched.) 

(g) Which bee describes how some people give to 

Missions? (Be-grudgingly.) 
(h) Which bee suggests what people might do in their 
wills for Missions? (Be-queath.) 

(7) "A Sting Contest." 

(a) A sting our missionary uses to cure tiredness? 

(Resting.) 

(b) A sting to cure her hunger? (Feasting.) 

(c) A sting to clean her school room? (Dusting.) 

(d) A sting that cooks her meat? (Roasting.) 

(e) A sting that browns her bread? (Toasting.) 

(f) A sting she uses to make us read her letters eager- 

ly? (Interesting.) 

(g) A sting that causes the natives to give up their 

idols? (Trusting.) 

(8) "The Heart of Juanita." 

All the answers are words made from the five letters 
forming the word HEART. 

(a) Referring to Juan, her husband? (He.) 

(b) What they had to drink? (Tea.) 

(c) What they did at meal-time? (Eat.) 

(d) The little animal that ran over their house? (Rat.) 

(e) The word to describe Juanita's crying? (Tear.) 

(f) What Juan's painting was? (Art.) 

(g) What was under their house? (Earth.) 

(h) Juanita had one on each side of her head? (Ear.) 
(i) What Juan did when Juanita talked to him? 
(Hear.) 

(9) Katy Bids." 

(a) Before Kate came to our mission school she never 
told the truth? (Prevari-cate.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 231 

(b) She kept what belonged to others? (Confis-cate.) 

(c) She had always lived in the country? (Rusti-cate.) 

(d) And she liked home life? (Domesti-cate.) 

(e) But finally she left? (Va-cate.) 

(f ) And decided she ought to develop her mental pow- 

ers? (Edu-cate.) 

(g) Our missionary showed her the way. (Indi-cate.) 
(h) And now she is very gentle and kind, although 

not very well. (Deli-cate.) 

(10) Ship Ahoy! 

(a) What ship made Captain Bickel a good sailor? 

(Seamanship.) 

(b) What ship brought him a wife? (Courtship.) 

(c) What ship made the islanders love him? (Friend- 

ship.) 

(d) What ship did they sail in on Sunday? (Worship.) 

(e) What ship had no soft berths? (Hardship.) 

(f) What ship helped the crew to assist Capt. Bickel? 

(Partnership.) 

(11) "Cannibal Islands and Other Islands." 

Following a "Ship Ahoy" Scrap-Book (chapter 
VIII.), these are good questions: 

(a) What islands are to be found at picnics and lunch- 

counters? (Sandwich.) 

(b) What island is always green? (Greenland.) 

(c) What island is always recently discovered? (New- 

foundland.) 

(d) What island offers frozen refreshments? (Iceland.) 

(e) What island seems to send ships away from her 

by her name? (Ceylon — Sail-on.) 

(f) What islands are given as forfeits or presents? 

(Philippines.) 

(g) What islands remind one of birds? (Canary.) 
(h) What islands ought always to have a pleasant 

breeze? (Windward.) 

(i) What island ought to jump and kick well? (Kan- 
garoo.) 

(j) What island can make good things to eat? (Cook 
Island.) 

(k) To what islands can we look for wisdom? (Solo- 
mon.) 

(1) What island is not intended for everyday use? 
(Sunday Island.) 



232 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

6. FOURTEEN MISSIONARY CHARADES. 

Missionary names and countries hide many a syllable 
just waiting for a group of lively young people to act 
out! Choose sides, divide this list, giving seven sugges- 
tions to each side. Each syllable is to be enacted sepa- 
rately, then the entire word acted. A "dressing-up box" 
(Chapter VI) will add much to these impromptu dra- 
matics, although it is astonishing how portieres can be- 
come gowns and brass-ferneries a crown in the twinkling 
of an eye! 



(i; 

(2; 


1 Miss-shun-airy. 
1 Living-stone. 


(3: 


1 Pay-ton. 
1 Fee-tish ! 


(5; 

(7: 


) Eye-doll. 

\ Pay-go-da ! 

1 Add-dough-nigh-rum Jud-son 


(s; 


1 Mow-ham-eye-den. 


(9: 


1 Burr-man. 


(10; 


1 Ass-am. 


(n; 


) Tea-bet. 


(12; 


1 Sigh-am-ease. 


(13; 


1 Fill-lip-e'en. 


7. 


ANAGRAMS. 



Use small square cards with letters of the alphabet on 
them. Select a group of letters that spell some word 
pertaining to oriental or missionary life; mix up the 
letters, and give to the child to work out. Good game 
for traveling. 

8. PICTURE PUZZLES. 

Any missionary picture may be pasted on a piece of 
cardboard, then cut up in zig-zag segments to be fitted 
together again. Also good for traveling, where a map 
may be cut up. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 233 

9. FILIPINO RIDDLES. 

(1) Come up and let us go; go down and here we 
stay. (Anchor.) 

(2) His words are audible but difficult to understand; 
when you look at his face you can understand what he 
says. (Clock.) 

(3) When held it goes; when let loose it lies down. 
(Pen.) 

(4) When pulled it is a cane; when pushed it is a 
tent. (Umbrella.) 

(5) If he sits down he is high; if he stands up he 
is low. (Dog. ) 

(6) If you chop it, it heals at once. (Water.) 

(From "Literary Digest.") 



CHAPTER XII. 

SWEET SIXTEEN— AND OVER! 

1. Big Sisterliness. If there are younger children 
receiving mysterious bundles, playing house, dressing up 
and concocting scrap-books, Helen will prove herself 
much cleverer than you in making and painting little 
nothings into little somethings ! Incidentally it will be 
training her for future church activities, and should lead 
naturally to her tellng mission stories in the Primary 
and Junior departments or conducting a mission band on 
week days. She might be a pioneer in forming a club of 
Big Sisters (C. B. S.) who pledge themselves to start 
missionary playtimes and story-telling nights in their 
individual homes. 

2. "Shut Ins." If Helen is sick she will thoroughly 
enjoy receiving some of the guessing contests, and one 
of the books mentioned below. Try to keep the ideas 
along one line, or one country, so that real impressions 
may be formed. 

3. A Cretonne Library. An attractive clue toward 
solving a girl's missionary interest comes in following 
up her pride in her room. If she uses cretonne for cur- 
tains or cushions then give her a quaint library to 
match ! This is easily done by covering the paper- 
backed missionary books with cretonne. Such a set of 
five books lies on my desk at the present writing and 
any number of girls who see it say: "Oh aren't they dar- 
ling? And they just match your blotter and desk set, 
don't they?" On offering to cover some books to match 
their cretonne, one gains unending gratitude AND (inci- 
dentally) procures a reader for the attractive books. 
One of the simplest ways is to wet the covers of the 
book with Diamond Giant Mucilage (Diamond Ink Co.) 
and then immediately wrap the cretone around the 
book, — spreading, patting, taking out all possible 
creases. Then lay some heavy books on top and leave 



286 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

for an hour; after which cut the cretonne to fit the 
covers. Here is a list of good books for girls; those 
marked * are bound in cloth and will need a slip-over 
cover, if cretonne uniformity is desired. A tiny gummed 
label on each back tells the title and author : 

"Ann of Ava" (Hubbard) $0.40 

"The Moffats" (Hubbard) 40 

"African Trail" (Mackenzie) 35 

"Crusade of Compassion" (Allen) 35 

"African Adventurers" (Mackenzie) 25 

"Uganda's White Man of Work" 40 

*"Letters to Betsy" (Cody) 75 

*"The White Queen of Okogong" 1.00 

*"Revolt of Sundaramma" 1.00 

"Love Stories of Great Missionaries" (Brain) . . . .50 
Note: The books for boys given a little further on 
will be equally good for girls, and vice versa. 

4. An Inch Library. Anyone who has ever given an 
interested girl a missionary leaflet knows the place 
where it will end its short career ! It needs to be camou- 
flaged a bit, and here again cretonne or flowered wall 
paper are invaluable. Let us suppose you have selected 
twelve leaflets you want Helen to read; they will doubt- 
less vary a little in size and shape, but as an outer 
cover of heavy paper or cardboard needs to be added to 
each leaflet, these outer covers may be of uniform size 
even if the leaflets are not. Apply Diamond Mucilage to 
these outer covers with a brush and then lay them flat 
on the cretonne or wall paper, smoothing away any bub- 
bles or wrinkles. After the covers have thoroughly dried, 
fold them in half, and sew each one through its center 
to the center fold of the leaflet. An extra suggestion is 
to provide a cunning little inch book rack for this slim 
new library. To make such a rack, remove the two oppo- 
site sides of any narrow box, into which the cretonne-cov- 
ered leaflets will just fit, — the sides being half as high 
as the leaflets. The three rectangular sides of this rack 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 237 

should then be covered with mucilage, inside and outside, 
and a long strip of cretonne be smoothed neatly over 
both sides. The edges may be bound with a cheap gilt 
braid. You have no idea how cunning it will look sittng 
quaintly on the table beside Helen's bed. It might be 
better for her to receive only one leaflet at a time, — one 
a day, if she is sick, or one a week. She may want to 
make Inch libraries as gifts for her friends. 

5. Quaint Presents. Indeed, present-giving offers 
quite an open sesame to a missionary mother, as Helen 
wishes above all things to give the unusual, the attrac- 
tive and yet the economical thing. A few such gifts are 
described herewith: 

(1) Blotters. (1) A set of 12 colored blotters is often 
given with one of the 12 leaves of a calendar pasted on 
each blotter. Why not also paste on cunning little pic- 
tures of oriental children? E. g., a Chinese maiden on 
the blue January blotter, daintily painted, with this 
couplet printed in Chinese characters : 

"Every time you have to blot 
Remember to forget-me-not!" 

The other eleven blotters show other nationalities. 
(2) Or quainter yet, a whole Chinese family of the very 
same size and shape can be cut from a big sheet of yellow 
blotting paper, using pattern in chapter III. (simpli- 
fied by showing a back view only, thus doing away with 
the "face" difficulty). Each pair of trousers can be 
painted a different color to offer variety — black, red, 
deep yellow, green, etc. — but the hair and demure pig- 
tails must all be black. One leaf of a calendar on the 
back of each member of this family makes him a guest 
for one month. How would it be to mail the blotter 
dolls on the last day of each month, including a Chinese 
story each time, such as "Who Will Open the Door for 
Ling Te?" (5 cents), "How Long Must I Wait?" (2 
cents), "Chinese Pollyana (2 cents), etc., as in cata- 



238 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

logue. A present that lasts a whole year cannot help 
but be delightful, especially when it keeps on arriving! 
(3) Blotters can be cut in the shape of Japanese lan- 
terns. (4) Bright red or green blotters as Chinese 
houses with tip-up roofs. (5) Tan cardboard as tepees 
with gaudy swastikas and arrow heads chasing them- 
selves around the flaps. In fact, blotters can be any- 
thing! 

(2) Book Marks. Little Japanese or Chinese dolls 
cut from bits of colored cardboard make very funny book 
marks. Their sleeves are cut so deep that they can hang 
affectionately over the page-tops, while their astonished 
heads stare out at the strange American world ! This 
jingle appears on one side of the doll: 

"Every time you have to look 
Behold me here to mark your book! 
Perhaps because I cannot read 
This duty makes me sad indeed." 

With it enclose leaflet — e. g., "How Long Must I 
Wait?" (2 cents.) 

(3) Writing Pads. Very useful little memorandum 
pads and tiny program pencils can be bought for a penny 
or so, and pasted on pieces of cardboard attractively cut 
into some shape: 

"This Jap-o-Lantern comes to say: 

(1) Lantern, with this verse: 

'Jot down on me a list each day 
Of all the things you ought to get 
Or otherwise you may forget.' " 

(2) Chinese house, with pad in doorway: 

"My empty paper rooms I'll rent 
Lest you become too negligent." 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 239 

(3) Oriental doll, with pad pasted on back: 

"I cannot tell you what a strain 
Is raised within my empty brain, 
When I behold you with delight 
Take up this pencil, miss, to write! 
For in the land from which I come 
Most girls are school-less, yet, and dumb." 

(4) Flower Bulbs and Seeds. It has become very 
popular to send narcissus bulbs with a little dish for them 
to grow in at Christmas or Easter. A similar idea for 
Helen could include any kind of bulbs, seeds, or actual 
flowers, for a friend who has a birthday or who is sick. 
The following little story may be re-named to fit the bulb 
or flowers to be sent: Little Misses Daffodil, Hyacinth, 
Wistaria, Lily Flower, etc. Put the bulbs in an attrac- 
tive box, then cut a paper tulip from 25 or 30 thick- 
nesses of paper, the flower to be about 3 inches long 
and wide, the stem and leaves about 6. With mucilage 
quickly paste all the 30 stems and leaves together, leav- 
ing the little flower itself to form a cunning notebook, on 
th£ inner pages of which this little story is to be neatly 
copied. The leaves and stem should be painted green, 
both back and front, making an unusual little story 
book, not easily forgotten: 

"Cherished Friend, 

Little Miss Tulip has come to pay your honorable self a 
visit. She humbly lives hidden inside this ugly little brown 
bulb of a house! Permit me to miserably suggest that if 
you will honorably deign to place her insignificant bulb 
under the brown earth which surrounds your distinguished 
residence, then the sun and the rain can warm her and 
cause a door in her little bulb-house to open so she can 
climb up and up to greet your celestial smile. 

While she is humbly unlatching her little bulb doorway, 
permit me to unfold to you the modest story of a real 
Little Miss Tulip from over the sea in China. For be it 
known unto you, Dearly Honorable, that Little Miss Tulip 
was the third daughter of a haughty Chinese father. Great 
disgust filled his sedate brain at the thought of another 



240 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

female mouth to fill with rice. "The gods have taxed my 
rice-bowl too heavily," he groaned, so when they asked 
him; to name the cute little baby he roared: "We will 
not name the little toad — she shall be Number Three only." 

In the tenderness of your American heart you will re- 
joice to know that the God who made us all tucked just 
as much love in Chinese mothers as in our own, so the 
meek little mother of Number Three wrapped arms of 
affection around the unwelcome baby, and saw much 
beauty in its yellow cheeks and little slant-up eyes. 

Then one night Number Three was missing. High nor 
low could she be found! On heavy feet of unhappiness 
hobbled the little mother into the lordly presence of her 
husband: "High One," she groaned, "my rice bowl over- 
flows with tears, for Number Three is not under our roof- 
tree !" 

With cold words he poured into her sorrowing ears the 
bitter truth that he had wrapped Number Three in a piece 
of old matting and laid her outside the gateposts to die, 
or be carried off. "So waste no further thought on the 
foolish brat," he commanded; "have you not other chil- 
dren?" 

Now God had long since put into the hearts of His 
people in America to build orphanages in China, and late 
that evening as one of our missionaries was hurrying home 
he heard a baby wailing for its mother. Knowing only too 
well why it was left outside, he carefully carried it to our 
orphanage, but first he held up his lantern to locate the 
house. 

And they named her Little Miss Tulip! She went 
through our mission school, and through our college, and 
finally became a teacher in one of our schools. Then they 
told her who she was, and the house where she had been 
found. So she went back to enquire whether they had 
once left a girl baby outside their gatepost to die. The 
sad little mother nodded her head, and was startled to 
have this lovely Miss Tulip whisper: "I am she!" 

As for the haughty father, he looked with, amazement 
on her rare intelligence and her enviable politeness. He 
said to his neighbors: "She has become as a son — these 
strange Christians with their new doctrines can make use- 
less females valuable. She has made flowers bloom in all 
our hearts." 

Cherish this true little tale in the secret place of your 
heart, and ponder its truth as you watch God send His 
wind and His rain to unfold doorways to the heart of this 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 241 

little brown tulip bulb. For in like fashion His love and 
His knowledge brought forth Little Miss Tulip in all her 
sweet beauty." 

(5) Tea Sets. A similar plan can be used in sending 
a little Japanese tea cup (five and ten cent store) to some 
boarding school or college girl, with a dozen tiny tea 
balls neatly made of gauze and tea. Little Miss Tea 
Leaf from China writes her letter on tea cups cut from 
many thicknesses of paper, with all the handles pasted 
together so that a story-book is formed by the cup and 
saucer : 

"All hail, Heavenborn! It has been whispered into my 
stupid ears that Honest-tea is the best policy, so I hasten 
to tell you the sorry tale of my little life, for I recall that 
curiosi-tea once killed a cat, and I should dislike to see 
your esteemed and beautiful self fade into oblivion! My 
miserable home is in China, where quali-tea and not quanti- 
tea is desired in the matter of having daughters. I have 
sometimes heard that sweet are the uses of adversi-tea, 
but it is not true in my case, as mine is a poor family, — 
so long before I was old enough to toddle I was yanked 
out into the tea gardens to pick the tender little tea buds, 
and the blinding sun made my little slant eyes blink and 
blink in the still steaming heat. Then by and by, at home, 
the velvety tea leaves were exposed to the sun and air 
on big circular trays, to wither them; after which we a I 1 
took the dried leaves and rolled them in our hands to 
squeeze out any juices; then they were roasted ready to 
be sent over the Big Sea to you, Excellency. 

They tell me necessi-tea is the mother of invention, but 
the only things I ever invented were excuses to run down 
the road to watch a wonderful White-Teacher-from-Amer- 
ica, who had opened a school for girls near-by. When I 
begged to go how my father sneered. "You go? You 
read? Bah! maybe chickens could be taught wisdom, but 
never stupid female children !" But when the White- 
Teacher herself began pestering him about me, then he let 
me go, and we are all so glad that I did seem to have a 
little brain, after all. I whisper what I learn to the little 
mother, and we no longer worship the wooden idols. 

Brevi-tea is the soul of wit, so I must stop writing. 
But whenever you drink a cup of this tea, will you not 



242 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

think of the little yellow fingers that have worked so hard 
to give you your nice drink? And will you not pray that 
the little hearts under the blue coats may open to the sun- 
shine of God's love as the little tea leaves grow up and 
open in the sunshine of the Chinese hills? 

Your lovingly friend, 

Miss Chinese Tea Leaf." 

6. Friendships. Oriental boarding schools and col- 
leges are full of adorable girls who would love to open 
a friendship with Helen. It costs $15 a year to keep 
a girl in one of these boarding schools — that means only 
5 cents a day, or 35 cents a week. If Helen could un- 
dertake the support of such an unseen friend and ex- 
change pictures and letters with her, it is hard to tell 
which of the two girls would gain the most from it. 
Look through "Our Work in the Orient" with Helen 
and pick out the particular school where she would like 
to have a friend. Her choice will determine the books 
you give her to read, the special Inch Library of leaf- 
lets, etc. 

7. Personality Plus! 

"Nor Jcnowest thou what argument 
Thy life to thy neighbor's creed hath lent." 

Sweet Sixteen loves love ttories, and Helen may enjoy 
forming an amusing little club to hold six or more ses- 
sions. Let her invite the girls to her home by little cir- 
cular invitations cut from white cardboard in the shape 
of engagement rings (the rim painted gold), with a 
solitaire projecting from the circle. Inside she should 
write: "Your engagement is hereby announced for Fri- 
day afternoon, June 28th, at 3 o'clock. No bride ever 
stays away because of showers!" 

A capital little book called "The Love Stories of 
Great Missionaries" compiled by Belle Brain may form 
the basis of the club studies. (Order for 25 cents from 
Lit. Dept., Woman's Foreign Mission Society, Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, 586 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 248 

Choose a Bride and Groom to dress up, at least to the 
extent of the bride appearing in an old lace window cur- 
tain for a veil, and the groom in a man's coat and hat ! 
The wedding march may then be played while they file 
solemnly downstairs to sit around the wedding table. At 
each "place" should be a little Bride and Groom note- 
book favor, which Helen has made from two white card- 
board covers cut in the shape of wedding bells, with a 
bride and groom decorating the outside. The faces can 
easily be corset buttons pasted on, as suggested in chap- 
ter IV.) Sheets of paper should be clipped inside the 
covers. 

The chapters of the book deal with the love stories of 
Judson, Moffat, Livingstone, etc. Each chapter may 
therefore be played like a game of "Consequences." 
The Groom is to read the chapter out loud, and the Bride 
to indicate when to enter the list in the wedding bell 
notebooks of: 

(1) His name — 

(2) Her name — 

(3) Where they met — 

(4) What he said — 

(5) What she said — 

(6) What the World said — 

When it comes to number (7), Consequences, tfce 
Bridesmaid-of-the-day is to be prepared each time to 
tell what happened afterwards, — what the particular 
couple were able to accomplish in the land of their 
honeymoon. For this, longer books must be read. — for 
chapter I., "Ann of Ava"; for chapter II., "The Mof- 
fats"; for chapter III., "Livingstone, The Pathfinder", 
etc. For the less-known missionaries it might be as 
well to spend the time on customs of the country, show- 
ing how Missions have improved conditions. If younger 
children in the home have dolls and houses illustrative 
of life in these countries, the objects might form a 
centerpiece for the wedding table ! Following each 



344 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

"study" a game is to be played, re-developing the ideas 
just gleaned, in some fashion. These are some sugges- 
tions : 

1. To follow the "Ann of Ava" chapter try this Ann 
guessing contest, giving each girl a card on which to 
write her answers: 

Ann of Ava is all of these Anns, too! 

(1) An Ann who knows all its different parts. (Ann- 

alize.) 

(2) An Ann who comes from, an old family. (Ann- 

cestors.) 

(3) An Ann who holds the boat steady when it stops 

off the coast of Burma? (Ann-chor.) 

(4) An Ann who explains that Burman history and 

customs are very old. (Ann-tique.) 

(5) An Ann who tells many details of her life story. 

(Ann-ecdotes.) 

(6) An Ann who knows what to take when she is poi- 

soned. (Ann-tidote.) 

(7) An unseen Ann whom God sent to watch over her 

in trouble. (Ann-gel.) 

(8) An Ann which shows how she felt when Adoniram 

was in prison. (Ann-xious.) 

(9) An Ann which tells how the savage Burmans tried 

to worry her. (Ann-oy.) 
(10) An Ann which she eventually taught them all to 
sing. (Ann-them.) The prize for the best list — 
a copy of "Ann of Ava." 

2. To follow the Moffats try having a little poetry 
contest, each contestant to work in the three words 
Moffat, Africa and Mary. The prize for the best — a 
copy of "The Moffats". 

3. To follow the Livingsone chapter give each girl 
a paper with the name "Livingstone" printed across the 
top. Each of the answers are words made from the 11 
letters forming his name: 

(1) What little word kept Livingstone moving on and 

on? (Go.) 

(2) What did the savages do with his provisions? 

(Stole.) 

(3) How would you describe the walking trips he took? 

(Long.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 245 

(4) What did Livingstone write down so he would re- 

member facts about language and geography? 
(Notes.) 

(5) Name the African river whose source he discov- 

ered? (Nile.) 

(6) What article of clothing did the natives omit wear- 

ing? (Vest.) 

(7) In what strange place did they wear gold rings? 

(Nose.) 

(8) How many evil spirits did these poor people fear? 

(Legions.) 

(9) What wild animal nearly crushed his arm? (Lion.) 

(10) What did he then pay the Moffats? (Visit.) 

(11) In what did he carry his arm till it healed? 

(Sling.) 

(12) What crept into his heart on this visit ? (Love.) 

Prize for the best list — copy of "Livingstone, the 
Pathfinder." 

4. To follow the Chinese chapter try playing the 
blindfold game "Won't You Come Into My Parlor?" 
as described in chapter XL of this book. Prize — copy 
of "Mook" (30 cents. F.). 

5. Following the chapter on Coillard try some of 
the charades mentioned in chapter XL 

6. Following the last chapter try "Looping the 
Loops" (see chapter XL), seeing how many of these 
six famous Lovers can be looped on the proper loops. 
Prize for one with highest score — "Comrades in Service" 
(Margaret Burton. 40 cents). 

8. "HERE COMES THE BRIDE!" 

After such a personality study, or possibly in connec- 
tion with it, the girls Avill be interested to know how 
other girls of the world get married. Leaflet sugges- 
tions are: "Bridal Pictures" (3 cents — India); "Wife 
That Cost Ten Cows" (2 cents) and "Brass Rods and 
Beads" (2 cents), both on Africa. Then if you own a 
copy of "The Child in the Midst" by Labaree, see pages 
67-84. Pages 309-337 in "Junior Mission Stories" for 
Hindu wedding. For Chinese and Japanese weddings 



246 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

see under "Marriages" in "Things Chinese" and "Things 
Japanese" (Chamberlain) at any public library. If the 
little wedding bell notebooks are well-kept they may 
become real store-houses of knowledge. To insure orig- 
inality and care, how about a prize for the best? Also, 
why couldn't this group of girls adopt a little Hindu 
widow in some boarding-school? Several girls could 
very easily earn $15, and it not only means a new life 
for her, but a vital interest for them. 

9. PENNANTS. 

And now for boys ! One mother whose son wanted 
his room fairly plastered with pennants and pictures 
provided some piece of bright cardboard cut out pen- 
nant-style. On one was written "Jorhat", on another 
"Jaro" in huge black letters, with pictures of the splen- 
did boys from our Assam school on the former, and of 
Filipino boys on the second. He fell into the habit of 
glancing through "Missions" for group pictures of these 
boys, which is a splendid sign, you must admit. This 
same plan can so easily be used for other countries, and 
be equally decorative and instructive ! 

10. BOOKS FOR BOYS. 

There need be no cretonne covers for Dick ! The book 
itself will be all that matters. The following are all 
good: 

"Adventures With Four-Footed Folk." (Bell Brain. 
$1.00.) 

"Uganda's White Man of Work." (Sophie Fahs. 40 
cents.) 

"Livingstone the Pathfinder." (40 cents.) 

"The Black-Bearded Barbarian." (40 cents.) 

"Judson the Pioneer." (40 cents.) 

"Life of John G. Paton." 

"Ancient Peoples at New Task." (Price. 40 cents.) 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 247 



?« 



11. CONNECTING UP! 

Both Helen and Dick are studying something: do you 
know what? Perhaps in no wiser way can a mother of 
Sweet-Sixteen- Year-Olds connect up than by unosten- 
tatiously giving the extra piece of information that will 
complement what is being learned at school. 

1. In the Study of English. Theme subjects are 
very often left to the choice of pupils, and to direct the 
mental floundering that goes on while Helen and Dick 
try to select a suggestive topic, it will not be at all 
amiss for you to prepare a list of titles along all pos- 
sible lines of composition — description, narration, analy- 
sis, etc. A very few of the limitless possibilities are 
jotted down herewith: 

(1) "All Aboard for — " (any place from Calcutta to 

Tokyo.) 

(2) "Vanity Fair." (Clothes of the world.) 

(3) "Japanese Poetry." 

(4) "Folk Lore of the Far East." 

(5) "Hand-Me-Downs." (The ancient customs of 

China, or of Japan, or India, now suffering a 
change.) 

(6) "Boxers of Yesterday." (The Boxer Movement in 

China.) 

(7) "The Orient in the Occident." (Oriental Immi- 

grants.) See book called "Angel Island" (25 
cents). 

(8) "The Occident in the Orient." (How the mis- 

sionary has paved the way for the business man, 
creating a demand for his wares.) 

(9) "It Pays to Advertise." (Sale of American 

goods in Orient and vice versa. 15,000 Singer 
sewing machines sold in China in one year, 
seven million Japanese tooth brushes sold in 
U. S. A. in one year, etc.) 

(10) "By-Products of Christianity." (What Christian- 

ity has done to the heathen world. See book of 
same title, by I. T. Headland, in most libraries.) 

(11) "The Book They Quote." (Famous Authors and 

Speakers and their quotations from the Bible.) 



248 THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 

(12) "Scratching the Scales off the Chinese Dragon." 

(Superstition of Chinese about earth resting on 
back of dragon; enormous wealth in untold 
mines. The country of the future as far as 
wealth goes.) 

(13) "First Aid to the Injured." (How a heathen doc- 

tor practices ; present needs ; the response of 1010 
medical missionaries to a world of one billion 
heathen.) See book "Crusade of Compassion" 
(35 cents). 

(14) "Rapid Slowpokes." (Rapid raisers of Liberty 

Loans, Red Cross funds; slowpokes for spread- 
ing gospel.) 

(15) "The Next War." (A war of Christian soldiers 

against dangerous heathenism.) 

(16) "The Charm of the Impossible." (See Miss Slat- 

tery's book of that title, but develop along your 
own lines.) 

2. Subjects for Debates. Great foresight should be 
used in choosing something that will not bias the de- 
bater's mind forever. Each side should emphasize a 
likely point of view. Once a group of young people de- 
bated: "Resolved that Christianity surpasses Hinduism 
as a religion for India." To those who chose it, it cer- 
tainly sounded sane enough; but all the brilliant speak- 
ers were given the Hindu side, and they had the pic- 
turesque stories for their facts, so that the poor Chris- 
tians with their well-known reasons were blithely voted 
down as losers by the Sweet Sixteen audience, who glee- 
fully went home and spread the news. It took some time 
for a startled pastor and amazed parents to dissuade the 
prejudiced debaters and the equally prejudiced audience 
from their false point of view. Here are a few safe 
topics : 

(1) Resolved that all Orientals should adopt American 

dress. 

(2) Resolved that missionaries should be men. 

(3) Resolved that China needs missionaries more than 

India. 

(4) Resolved that the Christian Education of Women 

is the greatest present need of the Orient. 



THE SCHOOL OF MOTHER'S KNEE 249 

3. Historical Background. Some one has said that 
"All history is mystery until it becomes His Story." 
Step by step a great pattern is being worked out, and 
on story nights take plenty of trouble to "connect up" 
Christian history with the particular part of history 
which Helen and Dick are studying. When one once 
gains this Christian sidelight on the pattern working 
out, it makes everything doubly interesting and intel- 
ligible. 

4. Biology and Missions would seem to have little in 
common, yet the lack of knowledge in the Orient is still 
causing thousands of deaths every year. A book like 
the "Crusade of Compassion" gives many instances. 
"Adventures With Four-Footed Folk" will also be inter- 
esting along this line. 

XII. THE WAR, AND SERVICE. 

But above all "connect up" the war with God's plan 
to remake His World of Tomorrow. We need to find 
a "moral equivalent for war", and especially do we need 
to present that equivalent in terms of definite service to 
susceptible Sweet Sixteen. At this age, if they once feel 
the height and the depth of heroism in Christian service 
they will never forget it. Modern "Acts of the Apos- 
tles" should be real everyday dramas in your home: 
"What wouldst thou have me to do?" 

It is so easy to say that Helen has too much to do to 
be counted on for outside service in church or city mis- 
sion — "yet!" But the time will never come if she does 
not begin "now". 



